The night was too dark, so the police had no choice but to light torches.
These were homemade torches, each one burning for only about five minutes before dying out and needing to be relit.
Xu Huiqing couldn’t bear the look in Xiaoxi’s eyes. The moment she sat down on a rock, she reached out and pulled Xiaoxi into her arms, holding her close.
She thought of the suicide note Xiaoxi had written in her past life: Mom, if you don’t love me…
She didn’t know what she had done to make Xiaoxi feel unloved, but she fought back the urge to cry. Clutching the child tightly, she gently rubbed her back and pressed her forehead to the little girl’s. Softly, she said, “Xiaoxi, I’m sorry. Mom only just found you. I’m so sorry.”
Tears instantly welled up again in the little girl’s quiet, composed eyes. With her dirty little hands, she wiped at her mother’s tears, hugging her as she choked out, “It’s okay…”
“I’m sorry, Xiaoxi. Mom lost you. Mom didn’t do it on purpose. Forgive me.” Xu Huiqing couldn’t stop sobbing, utterly unable to control her emotions. She tried hard to hold back, afraid of scaring Xiaoxi, but the tears just wouldn’t stop flowing.
Xiaoxi silently continued to wipe her tears, obediently repeating, “It’s okay…”
The more Xiaoxi said “It’s okay,” the more Xu Huiqing’s heart ached. How could any of this be okay?
Under the dim, flickering light of the police torches, she sat Xiaoxi on her lap. She earnestly cradled the little face, cleaning the messy grass bits from her hair and the dirt from her skin, and solemnly told her: “Mom loves you. I’m sorry I failed to protect you…”
The originally well-behaved and sensible little girl suddenly threw herself into her mother’s arms. Clinging to her neck, she burst into loud, aggrieved wails. “Aunt said you didn’t want me anymore now that you have a little brother! That you were going to sell me! Mom, please don’t sell me, okay? Xiaoxi is very good. Please don’t sell me, okay?”
The little girl was only just over three years old, yet her speech was already so clear.
She had been full of fear and anxiety, acting obedient and good. But when her mother said she loved her, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She cried loudly in her mother’s arms, pouring out all the terror and fear hidden in her heart.
She was barely over three. How had she managed to keep these feelings bottled up until now?
She cried, and Xu Huiqing cried with her. Mother and daughter held each other, weeping together.
As she cried, Xu Huiqing soothingly hugged the child and told her, “No, Mom didn’t sell you. Aunt was lying. Xiaoxi is my most beloved child. I will always love you most. I will always need you. Mom can’t live without Xiaoxi!”
The answer was Xiaoxi crying even louder, as if trying to vent all the days of fear and insecurity through her sobs!
The child’s tender wails echoed through the empty mountain valley.
Only when Xu Huiqing had coaxed Xiaoxi into stopping did she earnestly stroke her face and ask, “What else did Aunt say to Xiaoxi?”
Between sniffles, the little girl said, “Second Aunt said Mom doesn’t want Xiaoxi anymore. Grandpa and Grandma don’t want Xiaoxi either. She was going to sell Xiaoxi to buy candy for little brother. That now that Mom has a little brother, she doesn’t want Xiaoxi.”
As she spoke, the little girl buried her face in the crook of Xu Huiqing’s neck again, sobbing sadly.
Xu Huiqing told her over and over: “Good Xiaoxi, Second Aunt is a liar. She tricked you. Remember what Mom says: I will always love Xiaoxi most. I will never abandon Xiaoxi. Xiaoxi is the most important person to Mom. See? Didn’t Mom come to find you?”
Xiaoxi cried so hard in the crook of her neck that she could barely catch her breath and couldn’t stop.
Afraid she would get lightheaded from crying, Xu Huiqing kept rubbing her back and guiding her to breathe deeply. “Good baby, don’t cry. Mom loves you. Mom needs you most. Xiaoxi is more important than anyone or anything in this world!”
As if still unable to believe it, Xiaoxi sat on her lap, wrapped her arms around her neck, and sobbingly asked, “Re-really?”
Tears shimmering in her eyes, Xu Huiqing smiled at her firmly. “Of course. It’s just that I’m so sorry. Mom trusted the wrong person and didn’t protect Xiaoxi.”
The small child just shook her head and cried, pressing her face into the crook of Xu Huiqing’s neck, hugging her tightly. She wasn’t wailing loudly like before, but she still couldn’t stop her sniffling sobs.
Watching the exchange between mother and daughter, the female police officer nearby couldn’t help but tear up. While Xu Huiqing was comforting Xiaoxi, her gaze, like a vicious wolf, was locked onto Second Sister Zhao. It frightened Second Sister Zhao so much that she ducked behind a male officer, laughing nervously. “I was just joking with Xiaoxi! She’s so little, what does she know? She won’t remember!”
Xu Huiqing didn’t know if Xiaoxi would remember. In her past life, she had never dared to speak of the three-plus years Xiaoxi was missing, hoping time would fade these bad early memories.
Xiaoxi had never brought it up either.
The six police officers, Second Sister Zhao, and the couple from the mountains—eleven people in total—rested at the Stone Gate Gorge for a good while. The male officer lit a new torch and said, “Time to move.” He asked Xu Huiqing, “Can you still carry her? If you’re too tired, I can hold her for a while.”
Before having children, Xu Huiqing could go an entire day without eating and feel fine. After giving birth, even a slight hunger made her vision go dark. Now, having walked three or four hours on mountain paths while holding Xiaoxi, her limbs were already weak and trembling. She was running on sheer willpower.
But Xiaoxi remembered her mother saying she had no strength. Reluctant as she was, she still reached out her hands to the male officer. He easily scooped the little girl into his arms, weighing her with a bounce, and said to Second Sister Zhao: “You’re a wicked one. You even dared to scare your own niece, lying to a little girl that her mother was selling her. How can your heart be so cruel?” He spoke to the child in his arms, “Xiaoxi, right? Did you hear what your mom said? You’re her favorite. It wasn’t your mom who tried to sell you. When she found out you were gone, she nearly lost her mind with worry. She hasn’t even recovered her health but came looking for you anyway. Don’t you ever believe a single ghostly word your aunt spouts, understand?”
Xiaoxi looked at Xu Huiqing. Xu Huiqing smiled and nodded at her forcefully, stroking her hair. “The policeman is right. Second Aunt is a bad person, a liar. Everything she said was a trick. Mom will always love you.”
Xiaoxi’s big eyes blinked, her lips quivered, and it looked like she wanted to cry again.
They finally reached the police car. The male officer found a peanut candy from somewhere in the car, unwrapped it, and popped it into Xiaoxi’s mouth.
Two or three other officers took Second Sister Zhao and the couple in the car behind them.
Halfway down the road, the male officer driving asked Xu Huiqing, “Where are you staying tonight? Do you have a place?”
Although Old Zhao and Old Lady Zhao were temporarily detained at the police station, the old lady’s several daughters and sons-in-law were all still out and about. They feared it wasn’t safe for Xu Huiqing, a woman with a small child just out of her postpartum confinement, to return and stay at the Zhao house.
But where else could Xu Huiqing go at this time if not the Zhao house?
Xu Huiqing said, “Take me back to the Zhao house. Matters have to be settled. I’m not the one who did anything wrong, so I shouldn’t be the one who’s afraid.”
The three officers in the car nodded silently and drove Xu Huiqing and Xiaoxi back to the Zhao family home.
By the time they arrived, it was past eleven at night. Yet the Zhao house was still brightly lit. Mother Xu and Xu Huiqing’s three brothers and sisters-in-law were still at the Zhao family home and hadn’t left. Eldest Sister Zhao, Third Sister Zhao, Fourth Sister Zhao, and Fifth Sister Zhao and her husband were also still at the Zhao house. The whole street was quiet; only the lights in the Zhao house were on.
Hearing the sound of a car, everyone waiting inside the Zhao Family Electrical Shop rushed out. When they saw Xu Huiqing getting out of the car holding Xiaoxi, Eldest Sister Zhao smiled and said, “Thank goodness you found her! My god, you nearly scared me to death!”
But Fifth Sister Zhao had spotted Second Sister Zhao in the back car. She dashed over, yanked the door open, and pulled Second Sister Zhao out hard. Grabbing her by the hair, she started slapping her furiously. “I’m going to beat you to death, you homewrecker! The house was just fine, but you had to stir up trouble! Now Dad, Mom, and Zongbao are all caught up in it, and the family’s about to be torn apart! Are you happy now?!”
She kicked and punched, even ripping out a large clump of Second Sister Zhao’s hair. As she beat her, she cursed, “I always knew you had a black heart! Of all the sisters, you’re the most conniving, and you don’t have a brain to boot! You just know how to do evil!”
She beat Second Sister Zhao until she was rolling on the ground, trying to hide under the car, crying out between dodges, “Stop hitting me! It wasn’t my idea to sell her! It was Mom and Dad who told me to! How would I dare disobey Mom and Dad?!”
Fifth Sister Zhao shouted back hysterically, “If Mom and Dad told you to go die, would you go die?! Don’t you have a brain of your own?! She’s your own niece! You’re useless yourself, had five or six abortions of baby girls just to get a son. You think everyone is like you? If Zongbao’s family gets broken up because of you, I’ll beat you to death!”
Eldest Sister Zhao, Third Sister Zhao, and Fourth Sister Zhao rushed over to pull her back. Fifth Sister Zhao kept kicking at Second Sister Zhao while struggling against them. “Don’t hold me back! This idiot just needs a beating! She won’t learn her lesson without one!”
Eldest Sister Zhao hurriedly tried to persuade her, “What’s the use of hitting her now? The important thing is that Xiaoxi was found! Now we need to figure out how to get Mom, Dad, and Zongbao out!”
Fifth Sister Zhao’s outburst was also partly meant for Xu Huiqing to see. She truly hated Second Sister Zhao, hated her cruelty and stupidity. Yet Second Sister Zhao was her own sister. Her parents were her own parents. Zhao Zongbao was her own little brother.
Now Second Sister Zhao, her parents, and Zongbao were all taken to the police station. Fifth Sister Zhao was anxious too.
Especially about Zongbao. His leg was broken by Xu Huiqing, and she still didn’t know his condition.
Wiping tears from her face, she walked over, crying, to Xu Huiqing. “Huiqing, if you’re angry, beat her again. Even if you beat her to death, we won’t say a word. She brought it on herself. But Mom and Dad are old, and Zongbao’s leg is injured—it still hasn’t been treated. Can you talk to the police comrades? Let Mom and Dad come back first, send Zongbao to the hospital so his leg can be set, okay? As for this stupid woman, you can lock her up as long as you want!”
She was saying this not just to Xu Huiqing, but also to the officers who had escorted her back.
Eldest Sister Zhao also walked up to the police officers, pleading pitifully, “My parents are over sixty. Their health isn’t good, and there’s a newborn baby just a month old to take care of. Now that Xiaoxi is found and she’s fine, can you see if you can release my parents and brother first? At least let him come back and get his leg treated!”
When Fifth Sister Zhao yanked Second Sister Zhao out of the car, she had indeed startled the officers guarding her. But when they saw Fifth Sister Zhao beating Second Sister Zhao, the officers got out of the car and just watched. They didn’t intervene, letting her lay into Second Sister Zhao.
Fifth Sister Zhao’s hits looked vicious, but actually weren’t that hard. Second Sister Zhao’s screams just sounded more pitiful than the pain warranted.
This little act was obvious to the police, and of course, it was crystal clear to Xu Huiqing, who stood to the side holding Xiaoxi and watching the sisters’ performance!
An involuntary cold smile curved at the corner of her lips.
Xu Huiqing actually knew exactly what they were thinking. They probably figured that since the child was found, and she had two children with Zhao Zongbao, life could still go on. As long as she was still willing to continue the marriage, she wouldn’t make things too ugly and would have to let things be smoothed over.
Xu Huiqing ignored them. She turned instead and invited the police officers to come inside and eat something. They had been interrogating the Zhao family since morning and had helped her search the mountain for her child. It was now nearly midnight and they still hadn’t eaten a thing.
The officers were all in a hurry to take Second Sister Zhao back to the station. They quickly said, “You’ve only just finished your postpartum month, so go rest. The child needs to rest too. We also have matters to attend to back at the station.”
After hours of walking mountain paths, they were equally exhausted, hungry, and tired again.
The female officer physically dragged Second Sister Zhao—who was half crawled under the police car crying and begging Xu Huiqing to let her go—onto the vehicle. Soon, the police car drove away from the Zhao family’s doorstep.
The Xu family members all came out from inside. Seeing Xu Huiqing, Mother Xu hurried over and reached out to take Xiaoxi, but Xu Huiqing refused. “Mom, have you all eaten?”
Mother Xu said, “We had noodles. You haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll go cook some noodles for you. You just finished your postpartum month, you can’t overexert yourself. Let me hold the child.”
Xu Huiqing sidestepped away, soothing the stirring Xiaoxi with a little rock so she wouldn’t wake. She said, “Mom, let me put Xiaoxi to bed in her room first.”
Third Sister Zhao and Fourth Sister Zhao saw the child in Xu Huiqing’s arms and said with relief, “Now that Xiaoxi is found, we can set our hearts at ease. You’ve been out all day, and no one’s been holding Keke. You should hurry and hold the little one.”
Xu Huiqing looked at them, an unconscious sneer forming on her face. She stared at the three Zhao sisters. “It’s past eleven. Keke just turned one month old. Instead of letting him sleep and rest in his room, you’re bringing him out now for me to hold him?”