Chapter 476: If Modern Era (04)
“Anunu, be good, we won’t lie to you, come to your sister.”
Seeing that Anunu was in a stable mood, Wenjia walked towards her step by step.
She usually takes care of Anunu more, and Anunu trusts her quite a bit and doesn't reject her getting close.
But seeing her reach out, he shrank back to the side.
She had already stepped one foot over the railing, and the onlookers held their breath, afraid to make a sound and startle her so she would fall.
"Brother won't lie to you!"
Hicks' heart was in his throat. Seeing that Anunu still wouldn't let anyone near, he took out his boarding pass and tore it up in front of Anunu. "Anunu, look, this is your brother's boarding pass. Without the boarding pass, your brother can't leave."
Seeing this, Anunu's expression softened, and Hicks, seeing an opportunity to get closer, took a few steps forward and picked her up.
"Anunu, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have entrusted you to someone else. I won't do it again." Hicks hugged Anunu tightly, repeatedly apologizing in her ear.
The onlookers breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Anunu being rescued.
The others tried to surround him, but Hicks held out his hand to block them, signaling them not to come any closer.
Anunu is currently emotionally unstable, and the presence of too many people makes her uneasy.
Hicks felt a sharp pain in her neck; Anunu had bitten her.
He didn't even frown, but just kept stroking her back and whispering comforting words in her ear, "It's okay, don't be afraid, brother won't leave."
After a long while, Anunu finally released him and muttered, "Not here."
"good."
After this incident, Hicks and the others won't be able to go back for the time being. They'll take Anunu to a nearby hotel to settle down first and then make further plans.
Hicks discussed the matter with the head of the child welfare agency for a while and decided to let him take Anunu with him for the time being. The head of the agency probably realized that they wanted to take Anunu away and reminded them that it would require very complicated procedures to take her out of the country.
“Hicks, Wenjia and I have discussed it, and we can stay here to take care of Anunu for now. Once her paperwork is done, we can take her back to China together.”
"Why should we stay?"
Hicks glanced at him and immediately rejected his suggestion.
They spend the whole year on missions, and when they finally get to come back, even if he wanted them to stay, he wouldn't let his team members stay.
"Okay, let's take a nice bath!"
Wenjia carried Anunu out of the bathroom, and Hicks rummaged through the cabinet to find a hairdryer and went over to dry Anunu's hair.
Apa handed Anunu an apple, and Anunu immediately hugged it and started eating it.
Hicks chuckled and pinched her cheek. "You've already eaten quite a lot, how can you still eat?"
Anunu nodded, "I can eat it."
Wenjia touched her belly and laughed, "Your belly is so round now, you'll have trouble digesting if you eat too much."
Apa shrank back, "My fault, my fault."
After carefully drying Anunu's hair, Wenjia changed her into pajamas and then tried to sleep with her. However, seeing how energetic Anunu looked, she probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep.
Seeing that she still didn't want to sleep, Apa took out a jigsaw puzzle he had bought at the airport and played with her.
Hicks went outside to make a phone call. Bai Zhi watched as he talked for almost fifteen minutes before coming back in. It was the first time he had ever seen Hicks talk on the phone for so long. Usually, Hicks would finish the call as quickly as possible and hang up.
He couldn't help but tease, "Who are you chatting with so enthusiastically? Have you had a stroke of good luck with women?"
Upon hearing "luck in love," Apa and Wenjia both turned to look at him.
Hicks: "What do you mean by 'good luck with women'? I'm with you guys every day, but you've gotten together with Wenjia. Do you want to share some of your good luck with me?"
Upon hearing that Hicks was going to take away his good fortune in love, Bai Zhi immediately objected, grabbing Wen Jia and saying, "There's only one Wen Jia, no one can take her away."
Wenjia pushed him away, saying, "Go away, go away."
He then looked at Hicks and said, "Boss, if you take a fancy to me, I'm always ready to serve you."
Hicks chuckled and said, "I hope Bai Zhi won't come after me to my death."
After saying that, he stopped joking around and got down to business. "I've spoken to my superiors about Anunu's situation and asked them to communicate with them. We can take Anunu back now."
Bai Zhi asked, "When?"
Hicks said, "Anytime."
Bai Zhi and the others exchanged surprised glances and asked, "Boss, who did you call?"
“I already told you.” Hicks habitually took out a cigarette, but put it away again after seeing Anunu.
Although Hicks didn't want to reveal it, Bai Zhi and the others had guessed a thing or two. In the past, Hicks had never relied on his family background, but for Anunu, he didn't hesitate at all.
“I was thinking that it would take at least a few months to go through the normal procedures here, but Anunu can’t wait that long.”
Hicks watched Anunu intently playing with Apa's puzzle, and his gaze softened involuntarily.
Bai Zhi paused and said, "Hicks, Anunu escaped right under the noses of several bodyguards who are quite skilled today. She can jump over such a high railing all by herself."
His meaning was very clear: Anunu, such a small child, possessed abilities beyond their imagination.
Hicks stroked Anunu's head and said, "She lived alone in that kind of environment for so long, how come she doesn't understand or know anything?"
Even so, Anunu is indeed different from normal children.
He opened his phone and showed Bai Zhi all the information he had gathered about Anunu. She was an orphan, so there wasn't much information to be found about her. She had no family background, but the investigation revealed that she had appeared in some extremist organizations that robbed and smuggled energy crystals.
Bai Zhi magnified several photos of Anunu from his investigation; she was covered in dirt and was locked in a cage.
He asked in surprise, "Was Anunu stolen by them?"
Hicks pondered, "It shouldn't be all of them. These investigations involve organizations that have already been dismantled. After questioning, people from two different organizations said that Anunu followed them and that she suddenly appeared in the collection box containing energy crystals."
"So, we have to take Anunu with us, do you understand?"
Bai Zhi understood perfectly well that Anunu and these energy crystals must have some kind of connection, just like when they first met Anunu, she was deliberately kidnapped.
If Anunu is left in Yugoslavia, they won't be able to keep an eye on her, and she might be targeted by someone with ulterior motives at any time.
"Anunu, you're amazing!"
Apa exclaimed in surprise, turning to Hicks and the others, "Boss Bai Zhi, look! Anunu has already finished the puzzle so quickly!"
The puzzle piece depicts a green field. Although it's not particularly complex, it's still quite astonishing that Anunu managed to complete it in such a short time.
Wenjia exclaimed in amazement, "Anunu knows where each puzzle piece is just by looking at the pattern. She's so smart!"
After listening, Hicks stared at the puzzle in front of Anunu for a while, and said to her, "Anunu, shall we put it together again?"
Anunu pushed the jigsaw puzzle in front of her away, saying, "I don't want this."
She's already played it once and wants to try something new.
Apa immediately pulled out a second puzzle piece, "I have another one here."
He took the puzzle apart and laid it on the bed. Anunu looked at the diagrams and then started putting it together.
She rummaged through the jigsaw puzzle, hardly hesitating or making mistakes, but specifically looking for the patterns she wanted. She put them together very smoothly and almost without making any mistakes, quickly completing the puzzle.
Anunu looked up at Hicks with an expression that seemed to want to praise him.
Hicks patted her head and praised, "Anunu is amazing!"
Anunu immediately smiled and then asked him for a reward, "Chocolate."
Hicks said, "You can't eat too much sugar, or you'll get cavities."
Even so, he still gave Anunu a small piece of chocolate.
Anunu popped the chocolate into her mouth and ate it in one bite, looking completely satisfied.
Before going to bed, Hicks and the others had a good talk with Anunu, discussing taking her to live in another country. They explained that they hadn't properly discussed this with Anunu before, and hadn't asked her if she was willing, which led her to believe they were lying to her.
Although Anunu is still young, she is very smart and can understand what they mean.
Will I be with you guys then?
Anunu didn't care where she went; she only cared whether she would be with Hicks and the others.
Apa immediately said, "Don't worry, Anunu, we'll go back together this time. From now on, you'll live with the boss, and we'll visit you often!"
Anunu rolled around on the bed, visibly happy.
She had been with those sparkling stones since she could remember. At first, some people tried to take her away, deceiving her with delicious food, but she could feel their malice.
After spending some time with Hicks and the others, she realized they were genuinely good to her, so she was willing to leave the rocks and live with them.
To avoid any unforeseen complications, Hicks bought plane tickets for the next day and went to the supermarket early in the morning to buy Anunu some daily necessities while she was still asleep.
They didn't have much at the temporary base, and when they returned to the airport, they planned to temporarily hand her over to the local child welfare agency. They hadn't had time to prepare many things.
After they had carefully selected and purchased their items, they also received Anunu's passport and some important identity documents.
Knowing that Hicks wouldn't abandon her this time, she slept very soundly. She wasn't fully awake even as boarding approached. Hicks held her in one arm and pulled the suitcase with the other, leading Anunu through security and onto the plane amidst many curious gazes.
Anunu leaned on his shoulder, feeling the gazes of many people on her. She pulled on the new hat that Rahix had bought for her to shield herself from those stares.
Hicks had booked first class, and the flight attendants warmly came forward to serve them. Seeing that he had brought a child, they even brought local toys and snacks for Anunu.
Seeing how cute Anunu is, several flight attendants couldn't take their eyes off her.
Hicks looked at Anunu, who was huddled next to him, put his hand over her, and said to the enthusiastic flight attendant, "Thank you, we'll call you again if we need anything. She's very sensitive to other people's stares."
The flight attendant immediately expressed her understanding, said a few words of apology, and then stopped paying too much attention to Anunu.
Just as the plane was about to take off, Locke called him on video.
"Has the plane taken off yet? We're going out to buy some things for Anunu, and we wanted to ask you what she likes?"
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