The group of one adult and three children attracted a lot of attention, especially the little boy who was constantly sobbing, which raised concerns. Although the other two children seemed normal, who knew if they had been tricked and were unaware of the situation?
They had only walked fifty meters from the dessert shop when a suspicious-looking middle-aged woman appeared behind them; after another eighty meters, two more people joined the woman's group, both looking wary; at a hundred meters, the group behind them grew even larger, this time with two middle-aged men who were quietly questioning the others about the situation. Although they were some distance away, Xu An vaguely heard words like 'human trafficking' and 'luring'—all illegal and criminal activities.
In just over 400 meters, the line behind Xu An and his group had grown to six people. Xu An even wondered if, instead of entering a police station, he had ended up in a van or something similar, these people would have swarmed him and pinned him to the ground.
As soon as Xu An entered the police station lobby and found the law enforcement officers to explain the situation, he heard a familiar voice, which was full of anxiety.
"Yes, yes, yes! It was right in front of Hongsheng Stationery Store. Yes, right here. I saw my child go into the store and pick out stationery. I was standing at the store entrance answering a phone call, and then he disappeared!"
"We need to see the surveillance footage, but there are so many people on the street, how long would it take to watch it! Can't we just close off this street and search slowly while it's closed off?" The man's voice was pleading and even trembled with a hint of tears as he finished speaking.
Xu An recognized this man, Hu Lei recognized this man, and even Xu Kang and Xu Le recognized this man. This man was Hu Lei's father—Hu Guanghong. And his beloved son was standing behind him at this moment, staring at Hu Guanghong's back with an extremely resentful look.
“Dad.” Hu Guanghong did not respond.
"Dad!" Hu Lei raised his voice, and Hu Guanghong's ears twitched, a look of confusion on his face.
"Dad! Dad!" Hu Lei's voice grew louder, and Hu Guanghong's suspicious expression deepened. He picked at his ear with his pinky finger, shook his head, and looked at the law enforcement officer who had stopped registering him with uncertainty in his voice, asking, "Comrade, did you hear a child calling 'Dad'? Am I hallucinating?"
The law enforcement officer pointed behind Hu Guanghong and calmly asked, "Is that child behind you your son?"
Upon hearing this, Hu Guanghong immediately turned around to look behind him. The moment his eyes met Hu Lei's, Hu Lei couldn't hold back his emotions anymore. Tears streamed down his face as he frantically patted Hu Guanghong's body, crying, "Waaaaah! I'm going to tell Mommy, Daddy, you abandoned me!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Guanghong's mood shifted from the joy of regaining what he had lost to a mixture of panic and excitement. He immediately agreed to buy Hu Lei the three schoolbags, five pencil cases, and two thermos flasks that Hu Lei had his eye on, and only then did Hu Lei's crying gradually subside.
Xu Kang and Xu Le watched the scene unfolding between Hu Guanghong and his son, their faces showing thoughtful expressions. Xu An, who had been closely observing the two boys, noticed the change in their expressions. As their older brother who had raised them from infancy, he instantly knew what they were thinking. He said in a sinister tone, "If you dare let go of your brother's hand and run away, I won't buy you anything, and I'll tell Grandma, and she'll spank you!"
Upon hearing the words "spanking," the two boys' nascent plans vanished without a trace. Remembering how their grandmother had spanked them with bamboo sticks last time, they quickly covered their bottoms with their little hands and looked at Xu An with fawning expressions, "Brother, we're very good, you can't spank us!"
The commotion caused by Xu An and his two companions attracted the attention of Hu Guanghong and his son, who were haggling over a price. Only now did Hu Guanghong realize that Xu An had encountered his child on the street and brought him to the police station. Recalling the incident, he felt a wave of fear and offered Xu An a heartfelt thank you.
Through communication with Hu Guanghong, Xu An finally learned the reasons why the father and son had become separated.
Despite his busy schedule, Hu Guanghong took time out of his lunch break today to take Hu Lei to Heng Hui Shopping Mall to buy school supplies. They bought most of the items, but Hu Lei couldn't find the Ultraman backpack he wanted anywhere in Heng Hui Shopping Mall. So Hu Guanghong had no choice but to take Hu Lei to Haishi Stationery Street to look for it.
After checking two stores without finding it, Hu Guanghong's phone rang just as he entered the third store. He asked Hu Lei to go inside and see if they had any Ultraman bags, while he stood outside to answer the call. The call was from his boss, and the issue was important. As they talked, Hu Guanghong got into work mode, letting Hu Lei lead him around.
This wouldn't have been a problem at first, but Hu Lei suddenly saw an Ultraman bag hanging on a shop across the street. Overjoyed, he let go of Hu Guanghong's hand and ran over, thinking Hu Guanghong would follow. Unexpectedly, a group of people rushed between them as soon as they let go, and by the time Hu Guanghong realized what was happening, Hu Lei was nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, his phone was also targeted and snatched while he frantically searched for Hu Lei.
Xu An could roughly guess what happened next. Anxious to find his child, Hu Guanghong disregarded the fact that his phone had been stolen and rushed to the police station to report the crime.
While the two were chatting, Xu Kang and Xu Le pulled Hu Lei to sit on a chair nearby and chatted as well. Having found his father, Hu Lei's mood calmed down and he quickly returned to normal, laughing and talking with Xu Kang and Xu Le. Hearing that the two were going to the zoo next, Hu Lei's eyes were filled with envy. He had mentioned wanting to go to the zoo to his parents several times, but they had always refused because they were too busy with work.
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