01
The sky was as soft as a fluffy blue blanket.
As they stepped out the door, Zhong Wan took Chu Qinghuai's arm, looked up, and smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Are you happy? We have our own house now."
"So-so."
The man's lips curled up slightly, his expression subtle, but the shallow dimples on his cheeks revealed that he was in a good mood.
How could they not be happy? It took them half a year to complete the property transfer procedures. They dreamed about the bright red property certificate. Now that they had it in their hands, a dreamlike and unreal feeling welled up in their hearts.
Although the house was located on the outskirts of the city, old and dilapidated, they had rented it for many years and developed a special bond with it. The original landlord was going abroad to live with his daughter, which was why he was selling the poorly located house at a low price. By sheer luck, the house was successfully sold to the young couple. Even so, Zhong Wanchu and Qinghuai still spent nearly half of their savings.
The couple has worked hard for many years, and although their savings are not a lot, they are enough to live a comfortable life. Recently, Zhong Wan has also made new plans. Like most people, she longs for a happy life as a family of three.
"We'll go look at furniture after we get paid next month, and then we can completely renovate the house. How about next year? Let's have a baby?"
Zhong Wan counted the money on her fingers, then looked at the other person with expectant eyes, hoping to get the answer she wanted to hear, "What do you think?"
Chu Qinghuai hesitated visibly for a moment, then shook his head and refused with a lame excuse: "No, raising children is too expensive now. We need a lot of money, and this matter needs to be considered carefully."
"Tsk, then tell me, how much money would be enough? One million? Ten million?"
Chu Qinghuai lowered his eyelids, remained silent, and simply took the hand of the person beside him and walked forward with firm steps.
Zhong Wan sighed helplessly. She could tell what the other person was hesitating about as soon as she heard it. This wasn't the first time. Every time she brought up the idea of having a child, Chu Qinghuai would always avoid it with various excuses. They had even argued about it. However, she didn't want to dwell on it on this special day. She quickly composed herself and said, "Let's talk about it later. Let's go buy groceries first."
"Um."
Chu Qinghuai acted as if nothing had happened, cupping her hand in his own, and the two held hands tightly.
"..."
The market was a 15-minute walk from their home, so they took a stroll there.
It was peak time, with people coming and going, shouts everywhere, and crowds packed in front of every stall.
Chu Qinghuai and Zhong Wan walked to their usual pork rib stall. The owner recognized them and said with a smile, "It's been a long time since I've seen you two."
"Boss, business is good. Weigh out two pounds of pork ribs for us."
"Okay!"
They are regular customers, and the owner is generous, always giving them an extra small piece of lean meat.
Zhong Wan's eyes crinkled as she directed Chu Qinghuai to take the bag. She paid him, saying, "Thank you, boss."
You're welcome, come again next time.
After buying the meat, they went to another shop and bought some vegetables and fruits. They were lucky today and didn't have to wait in line for too long. They bought the ingredients for the next few days in less than half an hour. The two of them carried the vegetables in their hands and returned home with their arms full.
On her way home, Zhong Wan saw a vendor selling candied hawthorns by the roadside. She deliberately slowed down and asked Chu Qinghuai, "Do you want to eat candied hawthorns?"
"In no mood."
"This is not the answer I want to hear."
"Okay, I want to eat it. You wait here for a moment, I'll go buy it."
Chu Qinghuai would fulfill 99% of her requests, so he immediately bent down and placed the vegetables by the roadside. Zhong Wan nudged him, "Go on, I'll wait for you here."
Zhong Wan urged him to come back quickly after he finished shopping. She stood quietly under a big tree, idly observing the scene of two small dogs fighting across the road. She unconsciously laughed and stared blankly. Suddenly, she felt something bump into her leg, and her heart suddenly started pounding.
"oops!"
Two voices rang out at the same time, one of which was a distinctly childish voice.
Zhong Wan turned her head, and then was surprised to see a little girl in an orange tulle dress looking up at her with wet eyes.
What a beautiful baby, that was her first impression.
Just as Zhong Wan was about to squat down to speak, something unexpected happened.
"Mother."
She clearly caught those two words.
Zhong Wan certainly didn't think the little girl was calling her, but after turning around and seeing no one behind her, she patiently asked, "Little girl, are you lost from your mother?"
The child tilted his head, suppressing his disappointment, and quickly shook his head: "I found you, Mom."
She also pointed at Zhong Wan.
"Little friend, you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not your mother. How about I take you to the police?"
Zhong Wan awkwardly touched her hair. It was truly embarrassing to be called "Mom" by a strange child while standing on the street. She looked around; pedestrians were hurrying by, and she had no idea where this child had come from or why he was calling her "Mom."
She pressed on, "Little friend, where do you live? Do you remember your family's phone number?" Zhong Wan instinctively felt that the child's parents must be frantic with worry because they couldn't find their child.
But the little girl beside her had a determined look in her eyes. She took two steps forward and hugged her legs, saying in a loud voice, "You are my mother. I want to go home with you!"
Zhong Wan was very patient, letting her hug her without rushing to refute, finding it amusing: "You say I'm your mother, then do you know my name?"
The child was taken aback, genuinely stumped by the question. She blinked, trying to bluff her way out. The next moment, Zhong Wan's hand stroked her hair, instantly enveloping her head in warmth, like soft feathers brushing against her skin. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had touched her, and she was so happy.
"Mother."
The little girl unconsciously called out again.
Zhong Wan felt that the child was a bit strange. He didn't respond to "Mom" and wanted to ask a few more questions. Just then, Chu Qinghuai returned from buying candied hawthorns. When he saw the little person next to her, his mouth slightly opened and his eyebrows raised: "Whose child is this?"
"I found it."
She felt inexplicably guilty.
The two of them misunderstood each other's meaning. Chu Qinghuai thought she was playing a prank and said somewhat seriously, "This joke is not funny. It's not like we can't have children. Quickly give the child back."
Zhong Wan was both amused and exasperated. "Who's joking? I really found this."
Chu Qinghuai's gaze slowly moved downwards, his eyes full of disbelief, but when he stared into those bright and delicate eyes, he felt a sense of familiarity. Before he could think, he heard a childish voice say "Dad" in his ear.
His expression froze instantly, and for two or three seconds he was unable to react, becoming mute, standing there like a piece of wood.
"See, I was right?" Zhong Wan shrugged. "Little kid, what did you call me?"
The little girl answered loudly, "Mommy!"
Chu Qinghuai realized that something was amiss and was certain: "This must be one of your pranks."
Believe it or not, it's up to you.
Zhong Wan asked him what to do. The strange child called them "Dad" and "Mom" the moment he saw them. This was no longer a simple matter of sending him to the police station. For some reason, she felt a sense of familiarity when she saw that face.
Chu Qinghuai touched his forehead; his mind was a complete mess. Undeterred, he asked the little girl again, "What did you call me?"
"dad!"
No, I am not.
He continued by asking her how old she was.
"Mumu is three and a half years old."
"Mumu? That's your name, right? Your parents gave it to you." He thought to himself, "I have a mom and dad."
Zhong Wan chuckled and gently stroked the child's hair, finding it soft. "Back then, we were still washing dishes at a restaurant; we couldn't have had a child then."
Chu Qinghuai couldn't laugh. He stuffed the candied hawthorn into his pocket, picked up the food, and immediately took the two of them to the police station.
"Shall we go home?"
Seeing how excited the little girl was, Zhong Wan couldn't bear to tell her the truth.
"We'll take you to find your mom and dad."
"Aren't Mom and Dad right here?" The child opened his mouth in confusion, his little head turning around as Zhong Wanchu and Qinghuai led him toward the other end of the road.
...
Police station.
"Where did you find it? Leave your phone number here."
While questioning Chu Qinghuai and his companion, the police officer directed the people behind him to take the child away.
"What's wrong with the parents lately? Why are there so many cases of children getting lost?" He shook his head, and just as he finished speaking, he saw the child struggling to get off the policewoman.
"Mom and Dad, don't leave me!"
The little girl, who had been stubbornly pouting, couldn't hold back her tears any longer when she saw Zhong Wan finally let go of her hand and let the strange aunt take her to another place. Her eyes were red and she stared at Zhong Wan, reaching out her hands to ask for help.
Upon hearing this, the policewoman immediately put the child down, stood protectively in front of her, and looked at the two people warily: "Is this your child? Intentionally abandoning him is a crime."
Zhong Wan quickly waved her hand, with an embarrassed smile: "No, I really found it. You can check the surveillance footage if you don't believe me."
The police actually checked the surveillance footage of that street. The child inexplicably appeared from a corner, probably because he had gotten separated from his family. They found that, just as Zhong Wan had said, the kind couple had indeed found the child.
Someone nearby muttered, "It's strange, I think that child looks quite like those two."
Chu Qinghuai had just finished filling out the form when he heard this. He touched his nose awkwardly and looked at the child's face. He could indeed see a resemblance to Zhong Wan, because Zhong Wan's eyes were red like a rabbit's when she cried.
He sighed softly, filled out all the forms, capped his pen, and felt that he had done a good thing, hoping that the child would find his parents soon.
He had completed his task, so he put his arm around Zhong Wan's shoulder and was about to leave when, as he turned around, he heard a sound like a small animal sobbing, so broken.
The two had just stepped out of the door with their left foot when they were suddenly called back: "Hey, wait a minute!"
Zhong Wan turned around and saw the male police officer from before holding up his phone with an urgent expression. She asked, "Is there something wrong?"
Immediately afterwards, she and Chu Qinghuai were invited to the next office. In a corner where no one paid attention, the little girl followed them silently, her small hands nervously clutching the hem of her skirt, her tense face showing that she was a little scared.
-
"Please have a seat."
After finishing the call, the middle-aged policeman smiled politely and patiently explained what was going to happen next, saying, "I hope you are mentally prepared."
"Well, first of all, I want to express my gratitude to you for doing a good deed."
Zhong Wan waved her hand, "It's alright, officer, it's what we should do."
Her intuition told her that things were not that simple.
Then, "I just received a call from a special department. Could I ask you for a favor?"
Zhong Wan and Chu Qinghuai exchanged a knowing glance, and the latter calmly asked, "What is it?"
"..."
"You mean we're going to become her parents and take care of her?"
"That's right, that's correct."
Chu Qinghuai was so shocked that he didn't refuse immediately, and was so engrossed in the absurd words that he was at a loss for words.
Is this punishment for him? Nobody told him he'd become a father while buying groceries at the market.
Zhong Wan frowned as well. She did like children, but she wasn't ready to welcome one. It wasn't like raising a goldfish; you couldn't just bring one home whenever you wanted.
The news was so surprising to the two of them that they remained lost in thought and endless puzzles for a full two minutes.
"So this child will become our daughter?"
She felt it was absurd as she asked the question, but to her surprise, the police officer on the other end actually nodded. "I'm very sorry, we can't reveal all the details and privacy, but you can rest assured that this is absolutely legal. You just need to raise this child well, and someone will give you a subsidy every month. In a few days, relevant personnel will come to your home to handle the household registration and other formalities."
After saying that, he turned his gaze to the little boy Mumu next to him, his expression mixed with some complexity.
Chu Qinghuai neither agreed nor refused, "Can't you tell us about this child's background? For example, who are her biological parents? Are they still alive...?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Chu, this involves state secrets."
"You can at least tell us how long we'll be supporting her, right?"
Police officer: "It won't be long, please don't worry, the child's... uh... parents will pick her up in a while."
"Then why us?"
"Because you found her."
"OK, fine, I agree." Chu Qinghuai calmly agreed, his speed catching Zhong Wan off guard. The two whispered to each other, "Didn't you say you didn't want children yet?"
"Anyway, we'll definitely have our own baby in the future, so we might as well get used to it now. I feel sorry for that child; we seem to have a special connection with him."
"Yes, she calls us 'Dad' and 'Mom,' it's so cute."
Since Chu Qinghuai had agreed, Zhong Wan felt even less guilty, and to the police's surprise, the two of them quickly accepted the request.
They signed the contract, filed their personal information, left their bank card numbers, and it took them more than ten minutes to truly realize that there would soon be another child in their family.
"Then, officer, we'll take the child with us first."
Zhong Wan awkwardly picked up the child, and a fresh, fruity scent wafted over, lingering around her nose.
...
As dusk fell, two long shadows stretched across the ground. Chu Qinghuai, carrying groceries in both hands, smiled at the little one in Zhong Wan's arms: "From now on, you are my daughter. Be good, understand?"
Zhong Wan poked her little cheek, "It's okay if you don't listen."
"Okay, it's fine if you don't listen."
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