Zheng Tianming and Liang Dawei went to the orphanage. The children inside were playing games. When they saw strangers, they huddled together timidly and looked at them.
Liang Dawei sighed: "Isn't this a sin? If you don't want to be born, you shouldn't be. But to give birth and not raise the child is no different from being an animal."
Zheng Tianming turned to look at Liang Dawei: "Well said." He cursed him too, and the curses were extremely harsh.
However, he was unaware of this, otherwise he would never have given birth to a child and then failed to raise it.
"Uncle, are you here to take a child? Can I have one?" A girl with pigtails walked up to Zheng Tianming. She was about four or five years old, wearing a black tracksuit, and her voice was very soft.
Zheng Tianming squatted down. He had encountered similar situations before while handling cases, but he had never felt this heartache. He didn't know how to answer the little girl, so he picked her up.
The little girl was quite happy: "Uncle, can I go home with you, okay?"
Her playmates have all been adopted, and she wants to be adopted too, so that she will have a home, a loving father and mother, and her mother will hold her and tell her bedtime stories.
Zheng Tianming looked down at the little girl in his arms. She was so cute. How could her parents bear to abandon her?
“Nursing homes and orphanages are the places I fear most,” Liang Dawei said with a sigh. He was also afraid of hospitals, places where life and death are not in his own hands.
The little girl was afraid of Zheng Tianming because he was too tall and looked a bit fierce, unlike the uncles who had come before.
"Uncle, don't believe him. He's neither male nor female, and he's always so fierce," a little boy shouted loudly, wiping his snot as if showing off.
Zheng Tianming roughly knew why: her parents didn't want her anymore.
Liang Dawei certainly understood what this "neither male nor female" meant; the parents hadn't gone for prenatal checkups on time, which had caused the child distress.
Upon hearing this, the little girl burst into tears: "You're such a jerk!" Otherwise, she would have had a mom and dad long ago.
“Your kindness has nothing to do with gender.” Zheng Tianming carried the little girl up the steps.
Liang Dawei actually advised Zheng Tianming not to hold the little girl, because they would definitely leave, and she would only be more disappointed.
The dean didn't know Zheng Tianming and his group were coming. The security guard had just called, and she rushed over from the backyard, only to find they had already entered the yard.
"Little Jasmine, come down here." The dean said, reaching out her hand. To soothe her, she whispered, "There are chicken legs for dinner today, go quickly."
Children have very short memories.
Little Jasmine knew that she had lost her eligibility for adoption again, just like before...
But she still let go, tears streaming down her face as she cried out in anguish, "Uncle, Uncle, I, I'll go, I'll go eat the chicken leg."
Otherwise, in the end, she will not only not be adopted, but she will also lose a chicken leg.
Liang Dawei turned his head away. The children here are all so pitiful. They are just ordinary people. There's no way to pity them all.
“I have a son who is four years older than you. He keeps asking for a little sister.” Zheng Tianming felt that this was fate. When he came in, all the other children hid, but she ran over.
The little girl looked at Zheng Tianming with tears streaming down her face, but she couldn't understand what he meant.
Liang Dawei took out his identification: "Get things done first, don't act impulsively." If he decides to take the child like this, his wife at home will surely cause a huge uproar.
Besides, both parties need to be present; his opinion alone doesn't count.
There are many strict rules for adoption, and a lot of screening is required.
The dean smiled and said, "You're investigating Lily's disappearance, right?" With that, she led them to her office.
Zheng Tianming held Xiao Moli in his arms, watching her sit uneasily on his lap with tears in her eyes. He had indeed acted impulsively, but he couldn't bring himself to put her down immediately.
That's just the kind of person he is, and he can't change it.
"I...I know Lily. She...she told me she would definitely get out," Little Jasmine said, her voice trembling with tears.
Upon hearing this, Zheng Tianming immediately asked, "What else did she say to you?"
Liang Dawei stood aside, listening attentively, ready to analyze the situation later.
"She said her parents were outside, and she also said she would take me with her, that she would have lots of pretty clothes to wear and lots of toys to play with." Little Jasmine lowered her head after saying this.
The dean frowned and said, "Little Jasmine, don't talk nonsense. That child is mute." She hadn't said a word.
He fell down the steps and hurt himself, but he didn't make a sound.
Little Jasmine quickly shook her head: "No, she often chats with me, and she even compliments me on my looks, saying that the uncles will definitely like me."
Zheng Tianming's expression changed, and he felt as if he had been electrocuted from the soles of his feet to the top of his head: "Little Jasmine, you said that she told you that many uncles would like you?"
“Yes.” Little Jasmine nodded: “She said that many uncles like pretty little girls, and I will have an endless supply of dresses.”
Liang Dawei's expression was similar to Zheng Tianming's. Could this little girl named Lili be an accomplice of human traffickers?
He had previously investigated a similar case where an elderly woman let her grandson play with another child, and then abducted the child when the adults in the family weren't paying attention.
Because they were all the same age and stayed at home taking care of their children, they let their guard down.
Could this Lily be bait for a fishing scheme?
"Did she say anything to you before she disappeared?" Zheng Tianming continued.
Little Jasmine scratched her head: "She said she would take me with her, but after we took a shower together, she stopped talking to me."
Because of her physical condition, Lily gave up. Because she was not a "cute little girl," Zheng Tianming looked at the dean.
“I don’t know what happened, but Lily was sent by one of your people. They said her parents… you know them too.” After the director finished speaking, he patted little Jasmine’s head: “Don’t let Uncle hold you all the time. Come here, come to me.”
Little Jasmine refused to let go, clinging tightly to Zheng Tianming.
"Could you take us to her room?" Zheng Tianming stood up, holding Xiao Moli.
The hospital director personally led the way, after all, the child disappeared while under her care, which was no small matter and would require her to be held legally responsible.
Little Jasmine pointed to her room: "This is it."
The dean took out the key and opened the door.
The room was clean and tidy, with four beds and neatly folded blankets. Liang Dawei took out gloves from his pocket and put them on.
Zheng Tianming stood at the door, conducting the survey; he was probably not as capable as Liang Dawei.
The bed Lily slept in was completely bare, even the crevices were spotless, and the adjacent wall was spotless, without a single scratch.
Apart from neatly arranged toiletries and common items, there was nothing else in the bathroom.
Zheng Tianming carefully recalled the child, Lily, who lived right across from him. She was timid and couldn't speak. She would always hide behind her father and occasionally look at him with pleading eyes.
She would occasionally burst into tears because of her mother's "madness".
The key point is that during the hospital examination, she did show signs of having been assaulted, so they identified her as a victim.
“Oh right, I remember now.” Little Jasmine pointed to the small cabinet: “She would poke herself with a small stick, and it looked so painful.”
Liang Dawei was stunned. He opened the cabinet and there was indeed a... smooth wooden stick inside. He turned to look at Zheng Tianming.
this...
Um...
Zheng Tianming was also stunned; this shouldn't be happening.
The dean didn't understand: "This child also has self-harm tendencies, which we hadn't noticed before."
Liang Dawei carefully put the small wooden stick away; it might be the key evidence.
“Um, have you ever heard of dwarfism…” Zheng Tianming looked at Liang Dawei, otherwise Lily’s reaction was too illogical.
Liang Dawei stepped forward and said, "Not necessarily. Think about it, dwarfs usually have an odd head-to-shoulder ratio. I've seen Lily's photos; she looks normal and fits her age perfectly."
Little Jasmine didn't understand; all she knew was that she had to hold onto Zheng Tianming's clothes and not let go.
The two asked other children, but they all said that Lily couldn't talk and had never played with them.
The dean confirmed this; she was indeed not very sociable and had a withdrawn personality. She even arranged for a psychologist to treat her.
Liang Dawei went to check the dog hole that Lily had crawled through. It had rained heavily recently, and even the crawling marks had disappeared.
I don't know how they managed to protect the scene; Liang Dawei was already itching to curse.
"Dean, I'll take this child with me first." Zheng Tianming said, gesturing with his chin, "This is my captain. You can find him if anything happens to Liang Dawei."
"No! I..." Liang Dawei didn't expect Zheng Tianming to so seriously shift the blame onto him.
The dean hesitated: "I'm afraid that won't work; we have to follow the proper procedures."
Zheng Tianming gave Liang Dawei a wink.
Despite it being their first time working together, the two had a surprisingly good rapport: "The case requires us to take the child with us first," Liang Dawei said, showing off his identification.
The dean had no choice but to cooperate.
"If you really want to adopt this child, you must come over and complete the formalities, otherwise I can't explain it clearly." The director was still very responsible.
She left Zheng Tianming's phone number, home address, and his parents' names, etc...
Otherwise, even if she cooperated with the investigation, she wouldn't have let two grown men take a child away so easily.
Even after boarding the bus, Xiao Moli still felt a sense of unreality. She peeked out the window and saw the orphanage standing alone at the entrance.
Her best friends all left, and the other children wouldn't play with her anymore. They would often pull down her pants and pinch her...
"I have an older brother, right?" Little Jasmine blinked. She was indeed very pretty, with big, double-lidded eyes, two pigtails sticking up in the air, and a round, oval face.
Zheng Tianming nodded.
Little Jasmine was laughing very happily, her legs swinging back and forth.
Liang Dawei glanced in the rearview mirror. Either he was overly suspicious, or the child's behavior was too abnormal.
As soon as they entered, they pounced on Zheng Tianming. The four-year-old had said so much about Lily all at once. Logically speaking, a child of this age shouldn't have reacted like that.
Occupational hazard: I analyze everything I see.
What he knew, Zheng Tianming couldn't possibly be unaware of, but he still brought the person out nonetheless.
I can't understand this person.
Zheng Tianming took Xiao Moli out for fried chicken, bought her a cake, a dress, and a lot of hair ties...
Little Jasmine hugged her doll happily and said, "Thank you, Uncle."
Zheng Tianming patted Xiao Moli's head, his gaze lowered.
Liang Dawei was aware of the things he was thinking of; this child possessed wisdom beyond his years...
Little Jasmine followed Zheng Tianming back to the dilapidated neighborhood. She held his hand tightly and asked, "Uncle, will I be able to see my brother soon?"
Zheng Tianming looked at Xiao Moli and chose to remain silent.
After arriving home, Xiao Moli lay on the sofa and played by herself, sometimes braiding her doll's hair, sometimes changing its clothes, having a wonderful time.
The hospital director was stunned; he only remembered to ask for the file after the child had been taken away...
When Zheng Tianming returned, he bought a bag of fresh noodles. After seeing the file sent by the dean, he sighed.
Little Jasmine was born in an orphanage and was never adopted or had much contact with people.
The two people who wanted to adopt her before were two middle-aged couples, and Zheng Tianming also asked for their files.
Little Jasmine looked towards the kitchen and saw that Zheng Tianming was also looking at her. She gave him a big smile.
Zheng Tianming took out a bowl and chopsticks: "Let's make do with this for now."
Little Jasmine, being very sensible, went to get a bowl and chopsticks: "Uncle, when can I call you Dad?"
"It'll be fine once we leave here." Zheng Tianming said, patting Xiao Moli's head. He hadn't even discussed this with the young lady yet: "..."
She has never liked acting first and informing later.
But it wasn't enough time...
Xu Mengyu was busy with social engagements. She became the global spokesperson for a luxury brand. Putting aside the endorsement fee, she needed stepping stones to advance her international career.
She's very ambitious.
Xu Mengyu was stunned when she received the message from Zheng Tianming. What did he mean by "he adopted a child"?
He can't even take care of his own children, yet he travels so far to adopt one?
What will Xu Lu think?
She doesn't mind having multiple children in the family, but children's thoughts are different.
What a load of rubbish, so unreliable.
Xu Mengyu: [You'd better give a reasonable explanation.]
She wasn't heartless, but she did something big that she hadn't expected, just one day after she left.
Zheng Tianming explained the situation and Xiao Moli's condition to Xu Mengyu: "If Miss doesn't agree, I'll try to find a way."
His decision was not something she should be held accountable for.
Xu Mengyu frowned as she looked at him. She was four years old, abandoned as a child, and intersex. She recognized Zheng Tianming the moment she saw him.
It's like winning the lottery.
Zheng Tianming was eating noodles when he saw the message. He put down his chopsticks. [Okay, ask Lulu's opinion.]
Little Jasmine ate her noodles in small bites, watching Zheng Tianming cautiously; she was a little worried...
What if he changes his mind and doesn't want her anymore?
Zheng Tianming picked up his chopsticks and saw Xiao Moli put an egg from her bowl into his bowl: "Don't you like eggs?"
Little Jasmine shook her head: "Give it to Uncle."
That way, her uncle wouldn't send her away. She glanced at the sofa and whispered, "Uncle, please return the doll and clothes." She didn't want them anymore.
If she doesn't want anything, she won't be sent away.
Zheng Tianming's heart skipped a beat for no reason. Facing Xiao Moli's clean and clear eyes, he felt like a "bad guy".
Xu Mengyu took a sip of coffee: "Zheng Tianming, you seem to really like acting first and asking questions later."
Zheng Tianming picked up his phone and glanced at it: "..."
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