Now, Qin Zhizhi was practically pressed against him, and she could smell the faint scent of soap mixed with the aroma of sunshine on him. It wasn't rough at all; instead, it made her feel inexplicably at ease.

She secretly glanced up and saw that Guard Ma was so nervous that his forehead was covered in sweat, and his Adam's apple kept bobbing, just like a large dog that had been grabbed.

"I'm so sorry, Miss!" Guard Ma's voice trembled as he struggled to regain his balance and carefully helped her to her feet, his hands still frozen in mid-air, unsure of what to do. "I didn't mean to..."

After Qin Zhizhi regained her footing, she realized that one of her little leather shoes had indeed fallen off, revealing her slender white ankle, which stood out conspicuously on the marble floor.

She was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into the ground, but the guard was staring intently at her feet.

"What are you looking at!" she snapped, though her cheeks were burning hot enough to fry an egg.

Guard Ma said "Oh" and hurriedly lowered his head, but a slight smile crept onto his lips.

He quickly picked up the shoes from the ground, squatted down to help her put them on, but stopped abruptly as he reached out. Looking up at her, he saw a hint of unease and...expectation that she had never seen before.

Qin Zhizhi's heartbeat started to become irregular again.

She looked at the burly guard in front of her, who usually wouldn't dare to say a word to her, and her face flushed red. She pushed him away and ran off without even taking her shoes.

After smashing the things, Qin Jinshen turned his head and saw Guard Ma standing there blankly, holding a pair of small leather shoes, like a huge, shy squirrel.

"Go, take some pictures of that fat kid and show them to that bitch Zhou," Qin Jinshen gritted his teeth, staring at the still-dazed guard Ma. "What are you standing there for, holding a shoe? Hurry up and go!"

"Okay, okay, I'll go right away!" Guard Ma hugged the little leather shoes to his chest and slipped away with a grin on his face despite being scolded.

Only one person remained in the room. Qin Jinshen slumped into a chair, stroking the woman in the photograph. All his anger turned into tears that fell onto the glass frame...

*

In the narrow, cramped little house.

Song Yaoyao sat on the edge of the bed, holding her two babies, looking completely hysterical.

"It's all that bitch Ling Huanwu's fault! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have argued with you, and Xiaobao wouldn't have been lost!"

Zhou Shuyao squatted by the door, drinking beer one gulp after another. Hearing the woman's complaints behind him, he roared and smashed a beer bottle over her shoulder, "Shut up! You can't even take care of the kids yourself, and you're blaming others!"

The glass bottle shattered at Song Yaoyao's feet, and the two children burst into tears.

Looking at the mess on the ground, Song Yaoyao also hugged her two children and burst into tears.

Zhou Shuyao covered his head and slumped to the ground, tears streaming down his face.

He couldn't understand how he had ended up living such a life.

Upon arriving in the port city, he hadn't earned a single penny, and his child had been lost.

In her previous life, the child was only lost for two days before Ling Huanwu found him somewhere.

But now that his child has been missing for a week, he can only send telegrams to his mother.

He even had a bit of hope that Ling Huanwu would come to Hong Kong because of this, so that he might still have a chance to keep her.

There are so many memories of him and her here.

If he could, he would cut out his heart and show it to her.

He deeply regretted his momentary hesitation in his previous life, which led to his loss of her.

In this life, he missed her even more.

Amidst the cries of the children behind him, he couldn't help but burst into tears as well.

But this was not a place where they could cry whenever they wanted. Before long, a deafening barrage of angry curses erupted from all around them.

"Shut up! If you cry again, believe me, I'll call the police..."

The two of them were so frightened that they quickly covered the child's mouth, afraid of disturbing the neighbors any further.

After all, they were all unregistered residents.

If they get caught and taken back, all those hundreds of dollars will be wasted.

After thinking for a long time, Zhou Shuyao wiped away his tears and gritted his teeth, saying, "I think we should call the police. After all, searching for it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. If we hand it over to the police, maybe we can find it."

"No, if you do this we'll be deported. How are we supposed to be the richest people in Hong Kong then?"

Song Yaoyao quickly refused.

Just as Zhou Shuyao was about to lose his temper again, someone threw a bag into the house from outside. It landed on the ground with a "bang," startling the two of them.

Zhou Shuyao mustered his courage, stepped forward, and tremblingly untied the bag. He took out a photo and was shocked to see Xiao Bao crying in pain with his little hands and feet tied up.

When Song Yaoyao came closer to take a look, she was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, and Zhou Shuyao's hand holding the photo was trembling violently.

Without much thought, he took the only money left in his home and went straight to the telegraph office.

*

The wooden plank beds in the detention center were so hard they hurt people. Zhou Jiuzhen was moved to another room to be detained today.

As soon as I sat down against the wall, I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure huddled in the bunk opposite me.

The hunched back and the way his fingers were repeatedly rubbing the hem of his clothes were those of Old Wang, who had handled his and Ling Huanwu's marriage registration at the Civil Affairs Bureau more than a year ago.

After searching for a long time, my efforts finally paid off.

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Jiuzhen's eyes, and he deliberately kicked over the enamel mug on the ground.

With a sharp "bang," Old Wang was startled and looked up abruptly. When he saw it was him, his face turned pale.

"It's you?" Zhou Jiuzhen's voice was like ice, and he suddenly lunged forward and grabbed his collar. "You, surnamed Wang, what a mess you've made!"

Old Wang trembled with fear: "Comrade, you've mistaken me for someone else..."

"Admit your mistake?" Zhou Jiuzhen slammed him onto the bed, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. "What materials did I submit that day not have all of them? You took our photos, stamped the document, and now you dare to say you didn't do it? Now my wife is being bullied at home, and when I report it, it's considered a false accusation. You dare to say there's nothing fishy going on behind this?"

He deliberately raised his voice, each word striking a chord in Old Wang's heart.

Old Wang, pressed down by him, was so anxious his face turned red: "I didn't... I did process it for you that day! It was later... later someone asked me to take the file out..."

"Bullshit!" Zhou Jiuzhen raised his hand as if to hit him, but then caught a glimpse of the investigation team members flashing past the door. His fist stopped just inches from Old Wang's face, and he roared, "You didn't do it, that's all! Otherwise, where's the marriage certificate? Where's the file? Now my wife is an unmarried girl being confronted at the door, how is she supposed to face anyone after this!"

"What's all the noise about!" Two inspection team members rushed in and pulled the two apart. "This is outrageous! Fighting is happening in the inspection team?"

Zhou Jiuzhen broke free from the restraints and deliberately pointed at Lao Wang, his eyes red as he roared, "I'm going to sue him! He's a clerk at the Civil Affairs Bureau on our island. He deliberately refused to issue a marriage certificate to Ling Huanwu and me, and now Ling Huanwu is being bullied, and I'm being accused of false accusation! Investigate him, investigate him right now!"

Old Wang trembled from his shout. Looking at the serious faces of the inspection team members, he suddenly collapsed to the ground, his face contorted with grief, and blurted out, "It wasn't my fault! A man in a suit came to me and said he was one of Commander Zhao's men. He told me to temporarily put away the marriage files of Regiment Commander Zhou and Comrade Ling, saying it would only be for a few days..."

"I didn't dare offend him! But I really did it for them. The official certificates are all printed, and the files are locked in my drawer right now. If you want to see them, you can search my dorm room on the island..."