Chapter 60 It's okay if you're too busy to see your sister, we can go...
Chen Baihui was very troubled. She had tried to get her nephew to contact the daughter, but it was no use.
Chen Weiping, a young man in his early twenties, was humiliated by his cousin and refused to run errands for Chen Baihui anymore.
It seems that only Chan Pak-wai herself can handle this, but...
She looked at the man beside her, and when their eyes met, she knew he was about to cause trouble.
Helpless, she could only coax him, "Don't worry about it. I'm just trying to persuade that child to go to my hometown to develop his career. I'll just go there and do some ideological work with him. It won't cost me any more money."
“If she really wants to go there, you’ll definitely have to go with her, right? You’ll have to pay for the travel expenses, and when you get there, you’ll have to buy her some daily necessities, which costs money, right?” Zheng Linmao said pitifully, wrapping her arms around Chen Baihui’s waist from behind. “But I also know that you can’t really ignore this. In that case, we have to agree that you can spend money, but it can’t exceed two thousand.”
“Okay, no more than two thousand.” Chen Baihui glanced at the time; it was already quite late, and going to the courtyard house now probably wouldn’t be appropriate, so she called Qiu Xiaoman.
Unexpectedly, the phone was busy and couldn't be reached, so I had to give up.
She took a shower, and when she came out, her eldest son, Cao Xin, ran over from the three-bedroom apartment across the hall to knock on the door. She had bought two three-bedroom apartments, one apartment per floor, with the doors facing each other, so that she could take better care of her children and have some privacy with her third husband.
The three children live across the hall with their nanny, while she and Zheng Linmao live on this side.
She opened the door, looked curiously at the boy, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Cao Xin looked annoyed: "My cousin told me that I have an older sister, who you had with another man? How come I didn't know? When did this happen? My cousin also said that she's in Beidu right now. Where is she? Why don't you bring her home to meet us?"
A series of questions stumped Chan Pak-wai.
Since Xiaoman came to Beidu, many days have passed, but Shen Qinghuai has not shown any intention of acknowledging the child and bringing her back to the Shen family. Naturally, she, who has been at odds with Shen Qinghuai her whole life, is not planning to acknowledge her daughter back to the Chen family either.
Moreover, Zheng Linmao was already at a disadvantage in being with her. She also had three children from her second marriage. If Xiaoman were added to the mix, Zheng Linmao would probably be furious every day—the age difference between Xiaoman and him didn't seem like that of a stepfather and daughter, but rather like that of a brother and sister.
Therefore, Chan Pak-wai did not bring up the matter proactively for a long time.
Surprisingly, her eldest son was quite proactive.
The boy was only ten years old, so he was indeed simple-minded and didn't have many tricks up his sleeve, unlike his mother, who was always looking before and after.
She thought for a moment, let the child in to talk, closed the door, and asked, "Tell Mommy, why do you want this older sister to come to our house?"
“Is that even a question? She’s my sister! Leilei, Yanyan, and I all think so.” Cao Xin said with a look of dissatisfaction. “Mom, why would you ask such a question? Isn’t she your daughter? Don’t you miss her?”
Chan Pak-wai was speechless. Faced with her eldest son's questioning, she felt embarrassed and could only make up an excuse: "When she came back, the circumstances didn't allow it, so I gave her away. Think about it, if I kept contacting her, her adoptive parents wouldn't be able to raise her properly, and wouldn't that be unfair to them?"
That seemed to make sense, and Cao Xin was convinced. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Now that she's here, why doesn't she recognize me?"
“She’s angry with her mother.” Chen Baihui couldn’t face her son’s questioning gaze, so she had to make up another excuse.
Cao Xin sighed silently, "It's understandable that my sister is angry. Although our family's conditions aren't as good as before, we're still better off than most. But my cousin told me that you guys abandoned my sister in a remote mountain village, which is so pitiful. If I were her, I wouldn't be happy either. Mom, please invite my sister over for a meal tomorrow. The three of us want to see her, especially Yan Yan. She's the most excited. She's the only girl in the family, and now that she has an older sister, she has so many secrets she wants to tell her."
Chan Pak-wai has completely fallen silent.
The scheming and deceit of adults are so vulnerable in the face of the simplicity and innocence of children.
She could sense Zheng Linmao's fiery gaze, but between a gigolo who was after her money and her own children, she weighed the two and made her choice.
She forced herself to say, "But Mom just called my sister, but couldn't get through. And she's angry with Mom. Even if Mom invites her, she might not be willing to come. Why don't you call her?"
“Okay, I’ll do it.” When Cao Xin went to get the mobile phone, he noticed Zheng Linmao coming out of the bedroom. He politely called him Uncle Zheng, then went to the bedroom to get the mobile phone, and then went to the study to get paper and pen. “Mom, what’s my sister’s number? I’ll write it down.”
Chen Baihui recited a string of numbers, and Cao Xin immediately dialed them. Unfortunately, the line was still busy, so he asked, "Can I take this to my brother? If we get through, the three of us can let my sister know."
“Okay, take it.” Chen Baihui would never be stingy with her son, especially with the expectant look in his eyes, which put immense pressure on her and forced her to compromise again and again.
After Cao Xin happily left with his mobile phone, she sighed silently, closed the door, and before she could turn around, the jealous man came up behind her and said affectionately, "No, I feel like I'm losing all my status in this family. Have a child with me."
"Alright, alright, have one. I won't be picky about whether it's a son or a daughter." Chen Baihui was prepared for Zheng Linmao to make a scene, but thankfully, she only threw a tantrum and demanded that she have the baby.
She had already agreed, but she repeated it a few more times to reassure him.
Soon, the two returned to the bedroom, their showers now wasted.
*
Qiu Xiaoman received a call from Jiang Mingyuan.
The human trafficking case has made progress. Feng Hao and Zhang Jindan have both confessed. They were not working alone, but were peripheral figures in a huge human trafficking gang.
“They have partnerships with illegal hotels across the country. Once they spot a lone child, they take immediate action. They’ve developed a complete operational procedure. The number of people involved is hard to estimate, so we need to launch a nationwide, in-depth investigation.” Jiang Mingyuan thought of those confessions and felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly made a phone call to remind them, “You must strengthen the security measures at the courtyard house to prevent them from being targeted.”
After all, those were all underage children, and Qiu Xiaoman had to take responsibility for taking them in.
Qiu Xiaoman reassured them, "I know that. When I'm not around, Li Erhu comes over to keep them company every day after get off work. Don't worry."
"That's good. Oh, and by the way, didn't Feng Hao and his crew switch trucks once?"
"Hmm, what's wrong?"
"The truck they abandoned was provided by Liang Zhihao. The one they replaced later belonged to Feng Hao, but it was also registered on the mall's list of delivery trucks. So... this case is also related to Liang Zhihao. If Uncle Shen asks you about the details of the case, you must withstand the pressure."
"Don't worry, I've already talked to him about it."
"Well, it seems I made this call too late."
"It's nothing, I appreciate your kind gesture, thank you."
"Don't mention it, we're colleagues. Oh, by the way, there's something else."
"What?"
“That Feng Hao is Feng Shengnan’s cousin, and they’re still within the fifth degree of kinship. If you hadn’t found them in time, this case of a cousin abducting his niece would have really made headlines across the country.”
"What? That beast..." Qiu Xiaoman thought about it carefully. No wonder Feng Hao didn't recognize him; the two didn't look alike at all.
When these relatives of the same clan reproduce two or three generations later, it becomes very difficult to find any similarities between them.
If Feng Shengnan found out about this, she would be heartbroken.
Jiang Mingyuan had also thought of this, and advised, "Originally, I was thinking of not telling Feng Shengnan about this, as the young girl would be very distressed. However... I heard that her father has a good relationship with Feng Hao. If her father comes to plead for her and asks her to sign some kind of letter of understanding, then it will be impossible to keep it a secret. Why don't you talk to her about it?"
“Okay.” Qiu Xiaoman understood that the letter of understanding must not be signed, otherwise, this beast would be given a lenient sentence because the victim was rescued in time and the trafficking did not cause serious harm to the victim.
After hanging up the phone, she quickly called Feng Shengnan over. They had only exchanged a few words when her cell phone rang again.
I'm so busy tonight.
Qiu Xiaoman thought it was the old man who had been in pain, so she quickly answered the call. As soon as she said "hello," a young girl's voice came from the other end.
It sounds like a five or six-year-old child.
The little girl asked in a clear voice, "Hello, I'm Cao Yan, I'm looking for my sister, Officer Qiu Xiaoman."
who?
Qiu Xiaoman wondered if she had misheard, and subconsciously put some distance between herself and the mobile phone, suspiciously examining the brick-like high-tech product.
It shouldn't have hallucinogenic properties, right?
Receiving no response, Qiu Xiaoman called "hello" several times before snapping out of her daze. She moved closer and said, "I'm Qiu Xiaoman. What's your name?"
"Hello, sister. I'm Cao Yan. We have the same mother, Chen Baihui! I've also met your father. He has several daughters. I'm so envious."
Qiu Xiaoman was a little bewildered. How could the calculating Chen Baihui raise such an innocent and adorable little daughter?
That's incredible.
Well, the little girl took the initiative to get close to her, so she couldn't be rude. She replied, "Oh, it's you. Is there something you need?"
“My brothers and I all want to meet you, sister. When are you free to come visit us? If you’re too busy, that’s okay too. We can come to you.”
Qiu Xiaoman sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. She would rather deal with those heartless adults and play mind games with them than try to outsmart a little girl like this.
I had no choice but to tell the truth: "I can't. My schedule is full lately. I have to take a little girl who has no parents to her adoptive parents' house on Sunday."
"Ah..." came a disappointed voice from the other end.
Qiu Xiaoman could only add, "Then how about we wait until I get back from Shanghai? Okay? We can talk again then."
"Okay! Sister, you go ahead with your business. I'll wait patiently for your call, I won't cause any trouble. Can my two brothers say a few words to you? They've been waiting for ages."
"Okay." What else could Qiu Xiaoman do? The natural enemy of the adult world is innocent children.
She couldn't bear to hurt them.
Soon, two boys' voices came through the microphone—
"Hello, sister, this is Xinxin. I used to think I was the eldest in the family, but now I'm only the second oldest. It's getting late, sister, you should get some rest. See you later!"
"good."
"Hello, sister! I'm Leilei! I've become the third child! What color doll do you like? Yanyan has taken out all her dolls and picked out a bunch of pink ones to put next to you, she wants to give them to you."
"Anything is fine, I'm not picky."
"You must have a favorite color, right?"
"Then let's go with sky blue."
"Did you hear that, Yan Yan? I like sky blue, so you can keep the pink one. Okay, I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight, see you later!"
"See you later!" Qiu Xiaoman hung up the phone and suddenly understood why Chen Baihui had bought two houses to live in.
Facing these innocent children all day long, it would be impossible for Chan Pak-wai to portray an equally innocent and loving mother.
It's kind of funny to think about it. After being here for so long, the first people to recognize her were her half-siblings, whom she had never thought of before.
Comparing them to their mothers is ironic.
Qiu Xiaoman put down her mobile phone, and when their eyes met, Feng Shengnan blurted out, "Are you going to acknowledge them as your relatives?"
"I'm older than them, so it's normal for them to call me 'sister'." Qiu Xiaoman didn't want to acknowledge Chen Baihui, but she also didn't want to hurt the three children, so she could only play word games.
Feng Shengnan immediately understood and couldn't help but sigh, "They must have always had a smooth life and never seen the wickedness of human nature. Oh well, there's no harm in playing house with them."
"Hmm." Qiu Xiaoman glanced at the time; it was getting late, so she quickly got down to business.
At the same time, Shen Qinghuai received an apology call from Liu Yuandou.
This old-fashioned man argued with Shen Qinghuai all day, causing the stock price to plummet, and he had no choice but to bow his head and say nice things.
Having been in the business world for a long time, Shen Qinghuai naturally knew when to stop while he was ahead.
He said with a smile, "Mr. Liu, you've misunderstood. I just wanted to do a big deal, but I didn't have enough money on hand, so I sold some of my shares."
Liu Yuandou thought he was just being polite, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then let the matter drop.
When the topic turned to Old Master Shen's 70th birthday, Liu Yuandou asked, "Will your daughter be attending? I mean, the one at the police dog base?"
"What, Mr. Liu, are you very interested in my daughter?" Shen Qinghuai asked with a straight face, not wanting to give him any unrealistic fantasies.
Liu Yuandou laughed and said, "I have a son—"
"Impossible." Shen Qinghuai ended the conversation abruptly. "My daughter is still young and we're not considering marriage right now. Besides, we advocate freedom of marriage these days, and I have no right to make decisions for her. Please don't bring this up again, Mr. Liu. It's getting late, I'm going to rest. Goodbye."
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