Chapter 93
After nearly twelve anxious hours, in the early hours of the morning, Iris finally gave birth to Tangyuanzi safely. She was in so much pain and exhaustion that she was almost completely drained. Zhuang Zhuoyuan stayed by her side the entire time, and he was so worried and trembling that he couldn't even cut the umbilical cord. No matter how much knowledge they had learned beforehand, on the actual day of delivery, the couple still couldn't remain calm and do everything perfectly. Becoming parents for the first time, on that chaotic and exhausting night, looking back, it was more of a shock than a joy.
The contractions and pains that lasted for most of the day before the epidural were enough to make Iris back out of her plans for a second child. As for Zhuang Zhuoyuan, her thoughts were in turmoil, she went from considering a natural birth to a cesarean section, and finally thought that she only wanted one child, Tangyuanzi.
The family's primary concern was Iris's condition. In their haste, the adults could only manage a fleeting glimpse of the baby in Iris's arms. Only after the placenta was delivered and the doctors and nurses finished their final cleaning and left did they finally have the time to gather around Iris and examine the baby in her arms more closely.
"She looks a lot like Iris when she was little, with big eyes, a small mouth, and ears that look just like A-Yuan's." The baby hummed, and Jennie unconsciously softened her voice.
Iris couldn't tell who Tangyuanzi resembled right now. She felt her baby, aside from not being as wrinkled as other newborns, was pretty much the same; they all looked alike. After several people took turns holding the baby for a while, Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan finally felt the joy of parenthood. Throughout the night's ordeal, Iris kept revising her conclusions. She quietly pulled her husband aside and whispered in his ear, "Okay, I have to admit that although you weren't much help when I gave birth, I still really needed you by my side. Now I also feel that having a baby is a very happy thing, and I'm not sure I don't want a second child yet."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan smiled slightly, gave her a goodnight kiss, and did not draw any conclusions: "Sweetie, go to sleep first, you've had a very tiring day."
Iris's challenge has come to an end, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan's difficulties have just begun. Although a nanny has been hired to help take care of the baby, Zhuang Zhuoyuan still decided to do everything himself for the first month.
Chong Cheuk-wah returned to Hong Kong the day after Iris gave birth, arriving shortly after Gloria and AK, with William also making the trip. The whole family was together, enjoying a reunion dinner.
It was the Christmas holidays, so Zhuang Zhuohua didn't need to rush back to England. Everyone was hoping she and Zhan Hantao would tie the knot soon, so they created all sorts of opportunities for the two to go on dates. Zhuang Zhuoyuan practically pushed his sister out of the house: "Tangyuanzi sleeps all day long, there's not much to see yet. You should look at Tao more, sister. You don't know, while you were in England, he had so many suitors."
The last sentence was spoken at a moderate volume, just enough for Zhan Hantao to hear. Zhuang Zhuoyuan winked at him with a mischievous grin, then quickly ran back inside: "Alright, Dad, I'm leaving my sister with you. I'm going back to take care of the kids."
William, newly appointed as the godfather, was quite interested in the little one in the cradle. Considering the possibility of him becoming his godfather, he casually asked AK across the bed, "Iris calls him Tangyuan (glutinous rice ball), did she predict he'd be born on the winter solstice?"
AK carefully tried to wake the baby. He glanced at Iris, who was unwrapping her birthday presents, and poked Tangyuan's face twice more. "I think Iris might prefer him to be born at Christmas rather than on the winter solstice, so that the two of them could celebrate his birthday together."
“I think it’s not bad now. Iris and Tangyuan can throw two birthday parties in a short time.” William imitated him, poking Tangyuan’s other cheek. Unfortunately, Gloria saw them doing the same thing. Because AK was with him, William was somewhat implicated and didn’t get any better treatment. Gloria directly shooed the two of them to a side room, standing there with a stern look on her face. The two men raised their hands simultaneously.
The lesson started with William. AK let out an "Oops," knowing he was in trouble. Gloria shot him a glare, and he instinctively went to face the glass, whistling silently to feign contentment.
William pleaded for forgiveness beforehand, flashing his usual obedient smile: "I'm so sorry, Gloria." "Don't think I'll let you off the hook just like that," Gloria retorted, not buying his act and also giving AK a warning. She turned sternly to William: "I don't think your Godfather conspired with others to play tricks on you when you were only a few days old, did he?"
William knew perfectly well that he was the fish caught in the crossfire. The one truly on fire, however, took the situation as a joke, recklessly adding after William's "Well," "When he was as small as a dumpling, how could he know what Edward had done to him?"
William resolved to save himself: "I'm indeed not as mature as Ed. I think I'd better learn from him and become Little Tangyuan's godfather, or, actually, being an uncle would be pretty good enough. Okay, Gloria, I'll be careful with my words and actions and won't let my little nephew get hurt. Now, may I go and get to know your little apprentice? That little girl named Elaine, I think she'd be perfect to be Tangyuan's aunt."
Gloria was too lazy to experience the fish's slippery texture any longer. She waved him away, reminding him, "Elaine is still a little girl, and she has a boyfriend."
“I can totally wait until she breaks up with her boyfriend before I pursue her,” William said, a smile playing on his lips and revealing his dimples. “I believe she’ll be even more charming as she grows up. Right now, I’m going to get a number and start by being friends with her.”
“Little Will, does he consider himself a gentleman?” AK put his hands on his hips and raised his eyebrows with disdain.
“Hmph,” Gloria sneered, calling AK by his full name, “Alan Hale Cedric King! You think you’re such a gentleman, huh?”
“Of course…not!” AK smiled brightly, putting his hands on Gloria’s shoulders. “Hey, honey, just a kidding! I just wanted to see if Tangyuan looked different today than yesterday. Don’t they say newborns change every day?”
Gloria remained cold, showing no sign of accepting his explanation. AK raised his hands in surrender: "OK, OK, Yuan's here to take care of the child. I'll go help him deal with that guy named Tian Xinxi. Once I've completed my mission, Tangyuan will thank me on behalf of his dad, right?" He spoke as he walked, his mood always brightened by something new. When Iris asked him to help find out about this guy, he thought his little girl had been molested by that pervert, and he almost flew back to Hong Kong immediately to chop off his groping hands. But after finding out, he realized it was such a trivial matter.
Edward didn't want him to get involved in such a trivial matter. Gloria called out to AK, "Brother told me to tell you that Yuan needs to handle this himself."
"Oh? Ed is finally going to start training his good son-in-law?" AK said listlessly. "If I had known, I would have made my move sooner. Bang, one shot would have been enough."
Gloria felt compelled to reiterate: "Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law."
AK, of course, knew: "I never said I was going to do it myself. It's about using someone else's strength against them, you know? But unfortunately, there's nothing we can do now. Hong Kong doesn't have the death penalty. Letting that guy escape death would be too easy for him." In the investigation report sent back by his men, Tian Xinxi did more than just what Iris suspected. This beast had become so vicious that he had even murdered his mother.
There was no conclusive evidence, and the report only stated "suspicion." But its impact was enough to silence Tiger. Tian Xinxi kept crying in front of him, saying that his shot had shattered their entire family's happiness years ago. He never imagined that the person he had helped with all his might was a villain.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan was eager to know the truth: "What exactly happened?"
"That was the last case I handled before leaving the company. In fact, it was this case that made me think rationally." Tiger poured himself a beer and slowly recounted his past.
The Flying Tigers guidelines emphasize that every member must subdue criminals using the fastest and most effective methods. Since the task of deploying the SDU usually involves heavily armed criminals, the guidelines often boil down to three words: "shoot to kill."
The bank robbery over a decade ago marked Tiger's first encounter with Tian Xinxi. In that case, there were five criminals, one of whom was Tian Xinxi's brother. When the police arrived, the thieves scattered, and Tian Xinxi's brother, carrying the stolen money, ran into an alley, right into Tiger's surveillance range. Unfortunately, another passerby was also in the alley. Unsure of the man's identity, Tian Xinxi's brother panicked and raised a gun, intending to force him to leave. His emotions escalated, and for the safety of the passerby, Tiger, following instructions, shot him in the head. Tian Xinxi's brother died instantly. However, Tiger later learned that the gun Tian Xinxi's brother was holding was just a fake; in his short criminal career, he had never harmed a single person. He had turned to crime simply to raise money for his mother's eye treatment and his brother's leg injury.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan couldn't understand Tiger's regret. In his view, Tiger's shot was perfectly justified. The safety of innocent civilians was their primary concern; in such an emergency, they couldn't afford to hesitate about any possibilities. They were soldiers, and the other side was a thief; there were no "what ifs" in their actions.
Tiger gave a bitter smile: "But I just can't get over this mental hurdle. Even now, I still think, if I hadn't fired that shot back then, would everything have been different? Ah-Xi's brother wouldn't have died; at most, he would have served a few years in prison and had a chance to start a new life."
“But Tian Xinxi is beyond saving.” Zhuang Zhuoyuan thought it best to bring the matter back to the current issue. He had already thought of another way to break through when he came: “Do you know that Dingding and Lele are also children he abducted from elsewhere! Before he met you, he used these two children to swindle money from people everywhere! He never treated the two children well when you weren’t around!”
Having become a father, he found it even more unbearable to see children being abused. Zhuang Zhuoyuan tried to control his emotions, but his tone inevitably hardened. Tiger's heart skipped a beat again, as if he couldn't process the news: "Dingding and Lele..."
"You can always tell whether Tian Xinxi loves these two kids or not," Zhuang Zhuoyuan said earnestly. "Brother Tiger, you have your own opinion about the case from over ten years ago, and I won't force you. But now, you need to see clearly that you're helping a truly wicked person. Is he worth helping? Is this atonement or aiding and abetting evil?" Brother Tiger was a respected senior to him, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan shouldn't have spoken so harshly. But before coming to the Flying Tigers forum, Iris had warned him that if he couldn't completely dissuade Brother Tiger, there would be endless trouble in the future. Once Tian Xinxi had Brother Tiger under his control, who knew what even more heinous things he might do.
The two were silent for a while. Zhuang Zhuoyuan sighed and pushed the collected information in front of Tiger: "Regarding Dingding and Lele, Iris and I originally wanted to call the police immediately, but then we thought you might want to see them one more time, so we're leaving this to you. You can handle this." There's too little information about the two children, and AK hasn't found their families yet. After calling the police, the children will most likely end up in an orphanage, which will make things much more difficult. Zhuang Zhuoyuan secretly hoped that through meeting the two children, Tiger could completely sever ties with Tian Xinxi.
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