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Moonlight streamed through the cracks in the window, casting a cluster of pure white light, like melting pearls, spreading evenly across the ground.
A family of three was sleeping on the large bed in the bedroom, seemingly in a deep sleep, but the furrowed brows of the two adults indicated that they were not sleeping well.
Mumu lay between the two of them, her arms and legs spread out in a "big" shape, her little belly rising and falling rhythmically, like a cute little penguin.
Suddenly, as if feeling uneasy, she caught a familiar scent at the tip of her nose and let out two soft moans. But before she could be comforted by her parents, she opened her eyes. The pitch-black night made her pupils appear exceptionally bright, like two dazzling gems, blinking brighter than the stars in the sky.
She sat up, not afraid at all. She rubbed her eyes with her fists and then exclaimed "Ah!" as she looked up and saw the "person" standing at the head of the bed.
She wore a light orange dress that reached the ground, with a few small diamonds embellishing the hem. Her hair was loose, and the crown on her head shimmered with pale yellow starlight. She looked as fresh and refined as if she had just emerged from a plump orange.
"Goddess Sister".
Mumu's voice rang out in the room, but it did nothing to wake the two adults.
"Shhh."
The goddess who governs the entire Maple Orange Island stood still, put her index finger to her lips, smiled at the child, and whispered, "Don't wake your mom and dad."
Mumu immediately covered her mouth and crawled over at the goddess's signal, whereupon the goddess picked her up.
"I'll take you back to Maple Orange Island."
She spoke in an uncompromising tone.
Upon hearing this, Mumu immediately wanted to get down and said anxiously, "No, I can't leave my parents. They'll worry if they see me gone."
"What did you promise me when you came to them? Now that you've recovered, come back with me."
Little Mumu deflated like a punctured balloon, falling silent, but the tears welling up in her eyes were enough to express her distress and reluctance to part.
“They are humans, and you are a little sprite. How can you live together? Alright, listen to me. I have let you stay with them for so long. It’s time to go home, back to your real home.”
"I feel like this is my home." Mu Mu stubbornly refused to let her tears fall. She was more mature than other spirits since she was a child. Because she knew her parents through Yksq, her feelings for Chu Qinghuai and Zhong Wan were deeper and more complicated. She spoke clearly: "Goddess sister, is there any way for me to be with my parents forever?"
She even asked, "What's the way?" instead of "Is it possible?" She was smart; she knew there must be a way, and no matter what, she was determined to get it done.
It's already quite remarkable that she has such perseverance and spirit at such a young age. The goddess looked at her like she was looking at a successor, smiled gently, and stroked the hair by her cheek. She said frankly, "Then you can only become an ordinary human child and live with your human parents."
"Mmm." Her eyes lit up when she heard there was a solution.
"You won't be as pretty and cute as you are now. You'll grow old and disappear from this world completely. Would you still be willing to accept that?"
She didn't quite understand the second half of the sentence, but she understood the first one and readily accepted it, saying, "It's okay, as long as Mom and Dad love me."
The goddess paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled. Recalling how she had foreseen that this little spirit would be extraordinary when Mu Mu was just a tiny embryo, she realized it was indeed true.
"Okay, I can agree to let you stay in the human world forever, but now, you still have to come back with me."
Mumu asked why.
"Because I also want to test your irresponsible parents."
"..."
-
In her bizarre dream, Zhong Wan dreamt that she and Chu Qinghuai lived in a beautiful and luxurious house. The food and clothing were different from those in ancient times, but even more fantastical. Apart from their facial features remaining unchanged, everything around them was unlike reality.
Zhong Wan woke up with a splitting headache. Although she knew it was dawn, she was reluctant to get out of bed. She turned over, intending to hold her baby and sleep a little longer, but she found nothing.
Um?
She touched around, but found nothing in the middle. An ominous signal came through. Zhong Wan opened her eyes and saw that Mu Mu, who should have been sleeping between her and Chu Qinghuai, had disappeared. A fresh orange was placed on the small pillow.
She certainly didn't think it was Mumu who had run off to play somewhere. Zhong Wan was almost certain that her baby wasn't in the house at the moment.
Her expression suddenly changed, and her heart sank. She couldn't think straight for a moment. When she finally came to her senses, she gently patted Chu Qinghuai's arm to wake him up. Her voice was calmer than she had expected: "Mumu is gone. She was taken away when we weren't looking."
The once bustling home now houses only the two of them, as if the three children had never existed; everything has returned to reality. The shattered mirror is suddenly glued back together, even the gaps disappearing—it's utterly absurd.
The room was so quiet that only the sound of their heartbeats could be heard.
Chu Qinghuai noticed the little orange on the pillow, reached out and grabbed it, "Does the baby not like this home? Or am I not doing enough?"
"..."
The couple did nothing all morning, drifting in and out of it, forgetting to eat and drink. Their house was full of their children's things, making it hard for them to ignore them. But every time they saw something related to their children, their hearts would clench and then ache.
Zhong Wan took a few days off from the cake shop. She knew she wouldn't be able to focus on work until the children returned. Most importantly, she needed to figure out why the three babies were missing and when they would be back.
Currently, the only way to contact the child is through Brother Eagle.
Ying Ge has an old-fashioned mobile phone. Usually, Chu Qinghuai would call him to ask for help or ask for things. Most of the time, the two could communicate in a timely manner. But for some reason, Ying Ge has stopped answering his calls these past two days.
If Chu Qinghuai hadn't known that he was also a spirit, he would have definitely mistaken him for a human trafficker.
"Still not answering? Not replying to my messages either?"
Standing by the window, Zhong Wan watched the man shake his head helplessly, and she felt increasingly devastated.
It's been almost two weeks since Cai Cai left home, Xiao He has been gone for three days, and Mu Mu has been gone for two days. She misses the children terribly.
"I'm going to find Officer Chen."
Chu Qinghuai was most afraid of seeing Zhong Wan's heartbroken expression. Even when the two of them were living in poverty, she still ate instant noodles with a positive and optimistic attitude, saying, "We will live a good life one day."
Her mouth seemed to be blessed, and they really did live a good life afterward.
But at this moment, seeing that the other party seemed completely uncertain, Chu Qinghuai panicked, fearing that the good days were gone forever, and that his bad luck had brought about this situation.
-
Officer Chen is very busy every day, handling all sorts of matters, big and small. Chu Qinghuai felt that it was difficult to explain over the phone, so he brought Zhong Wan directly to the police station to see him.
Fortunately, this was the other party's rest time at noon, so the two sides could talk for a while.
"Why did you all come here? Aren't you at work today? Where are the three kids?"
Officer Chen was observant and noticed the unpleasantness between the young couple; he had only said that to ease the tension.
Chu Qinghuai cut to the chase and didn't waste any time, telling him, "They're not home, Officer Chen. Can you contact the Bureau of Spirits and Monsters and ask them how long it will be before we can see the children?"
Officer Chen wasn't unmoved by these words, but as was his habit, he concealed his emotions and pointed out the key point by asking, "The children have been taken away? I haven't received any notification."
"They were taken by Brother Eagle to the place where they were born, and we can't find them."
"Wait a moment, I'll go ask."
Officer Chen is a very good person. He has seen many strange and unusual things in his life. His work is not very safe. He considers himself a knowledgeable person, but even so, he still thinks that Chu Qinghuai's family is the most dramatic.
The existence of spirits and monsters in the world is frightening enough, but the idea that normal humans and spirits could be related by blood is unbelievable. He simply doesn't believe that Chu Qinghuai and Zhong Wan are purely natural, ordinary humans.
After dialing several unnamed phone numbers, but receiving no answer, Officer Chen walked over with a regretful expression. "Why did you suddenly stop answering your phone?"
"Even calling Brother Ying didn't work."
"Why don't you wait a little longer?"
Officer Chen offered words of comfort: "Since the children are going there for medical treatment, just wait patiently. They will come back when they are better."
Chu Qinghuai and Zhong Wan, who had been silent for a long time, looked at each other, seemingly having no other solution besides this method.
They then left empty-handed.
Passing by a xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) shop on the way, the couple, who hadn't eaten properly for the past two days, suddenly felt incredibly hungry. They went in and each ordered a bowl of wontons and two baskets of xiaolongbao. It's unclear whether they were having breakfast or lunch.
"Cai Cai must really like this xiaolongbao. It's such a pity she didn't get a chance to come and eat with us."
Zhong Wan still had a smile on her lips, but only a discerning person could see that the smile carried endless desolation.
"There will definitely be an opportunity. We'll bring them here to eat every day then."
"No, it's not good to eat takeout every day."
Zhong Wan scooped up another spoonful of wontons and put them in her mouth, accidentally getting some seaweed on the corner of her mouth.
Chu Qinghuai took a tissue to wipe her mouth, and seeing that she wasn't concentrating on her meal, he fed her a small steamed bun that he blew on so it wasn't too hot.
"Ugh, it's so sour!"
Zhong Wan quickly chewed and swallowed, staring at Chu Qinghuai with lively eyes and brows, somewhat like her usual self.
"It's good that you'll get angry."
Chu Qinghuai deliberately dipped the steamed buns in vinegar sauce to provoke her, because Zhong Wan had been incredibly negative lately, always blaming herself for not protecting the babies properly, causing them to get sick and be taken away...
He would be doubly sad if Zhong Wan was unhappy. "Didn't we agree to wait for the babies to come home? Don't forget, all three of them are our own children."
"I know."
After some encouragement, Zhong Wan was less discouraged. The two finished their meal and were about to leave when Chu Qinghuai received a call from Officer Chen.
"What did you say?" Zhong Wan asked curiously.
Chu Qinghuai mouthed, "Someone is looking for us."
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