Chapter 6

Not long had passed since the child went missing, and Mao Feixue and the others didn’t alert the police station but instead split up to search along the street. With her short legs, the child wouldn’t be able to run far, so they should be able to intercept her quickly.

Rao Shishi sent a photo of Zhong Yuntong to them, and the three of them each held the photo on their phones, stopping passersby to inquire.

Mao Feixue asked a passerby if they had seen Zhong Yuntong, and the passerby pointed in a direction, “She went that way. I saw her by herself and asked if she was lost. She said she was going to find her father.”

Zhong Jin had just returned from the police station and was changing into slippers on the shoe bench in the foyer. Just as he stood up, his phone on the shoe cabinet vibrated unexpectedly.

He answered the call, and Mao Feixue’s voice crackled through, “Director Zhong, Tongtong is lost with us. She should be heading in your direction, so please keep an eye out.”

Zhong Jin glanced down at the slippers he had just put on, expressionless as he changed back into his leather shoes, he stepped out of the door resigned to his fate.

Not far from the community, Zhong Jin spotted Zhong Yuntong, her two buns bobbing as she marched confidently with her short legs, seemingly proud of something.

Standing in the shadow cast by the wall, he pulled out his phone and called Mao Feixue, “I found her. She’ll stay with me tonight; you don’t need to worry about it. Okay, bye.”

“Zhong Yuntong.” Zhong Jin’s hands were stuffed in his pockets, the warm yellow streetlight illuminating his tall figure.

Zhong Yuntong turned her head at the sound and immediately spotted her dad under the streetlight, towering like a giant. A joyful expression spread across her face, “Father!”

“Where have you been?” Zhong Jin’s voice was calm but laced with hidden anger.

Zhong Yuntong ran over, swaying slightly, “I went to eat.” She patted her little bag proudly, raising her chin, “I brought you pastries!”

Seeing her so happy, with her big eyes sparkling as if seeking praise, the anger he felt earlier about her running off dissipated. However, he still pretended to maintain a stern face, his voice stern,

“You ran off without saying a word. Do you know everyone has been looking for you?”

Zhong Yuntong reached out her soft little hand to hold onto one of his fingers, earnestly reasoning with him, “Don’t be angry.”

She tugged on Zhong Jin’s hand as they walked home, mumbling, “If you’re so angry, your friends won’t play with you, and they won’t take you to eat.”

Zhong Jin ignored her, but she didn’t mind, continuing to chatter, “I brought you pastries; you need to say thank you.”

Zhong Jin, “......” He suddenly picked up Zhong Yuntong and walked in the opposite direction of home.

Zhong Yuntong widened her big eyes, realizing where her father was taking her, and immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, shouting, “I don’t want to take a bath! I won’t wash!”

In this hot weather, not bathing would be smelly. Zhong Jin wouldn’t indulge her and directly carried her to the bathhouse.

The bathhouse lady was already quite skilled at her job. She quickly called for an assistant, and the two of them carried the wailing child into the bathhouse.

After about ten minutes, a bathhouse lady came out and handed Zhong Jin a cooled piece of glutinous rice cake, “The child insisted I bring this out to you. You should eat it while it’s still cool.”

The piece of glutinous rice cake had lost its original shape, squished into an irregular lump, with some unidentified crumbs stuck to it. Zhong Jin brought it to his nose and sniffed; the glutinous rice cake had been in the little bag for a while, and it smelled like strange-flavored peanuts.

He casually tossed it into the trash can.

Staring at the trash can for two seconds, he found some leaves and covered it up to prevent the unfortunate child from discovering it later, or else she would definitely make a fuss.

Today’s routine was exactly the same as yesterday’s. Zhong Jin took the freshly bathed Zhong Yuntong to the children’s clothing store and picked out a little outfit from the discount rack. He had done the exact same thing yesterday, and he felt a surreal sense of time looping back.

The only difference was that when they passed a children’s shoe store, Zhong Jin took the child inside and handed her over to the staff, asking them to find her a pair of fitting shoes.

Zhong Jin sat on a soft bench waiting. Zhong Yuntong ran over to show him, wearing light blue big-headed shoes, “Look, there are little flowers here.” She pointed to a three-dimensional flower on the shoe.

“Are they comfortable?” Zhong Jin asked.

Zhong Yuntong exaggeratedly nodded, “Super comfortable!”

Zhong Jin couldn’t help but smile, “As long as they’re comfortable.”

The staff packed up the small sandals she had worn earlier in a paper bag, and Zhong Yuntong took the initiative to carry it as they walked forward, being particularly sensible. Yesterday, she had refused to carry her own clothes.

Once they reached the street, Zhong Yuntong tossed the ugly sandals to the side and turned to Zhong Jin, extending her hand, “Carry me.”

Zhong Jin, “......” He walked over to pick up the shoes, thought for a moment, and tossed them directly into the trash can. He bent down and picked up the child, heading home.

**

Recently, the weather in Haishi had been exceptionally nice. The morning sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting a ground full of shimmering light spots.

In this golden morning light, Tongtong sat quietly on a small stool in the breakfast shop, her eyes fixed on the dish window not far ahead. When she saw her father coming over with a small basket of buns, she cupped her face with her hands and immediately broke into a big smile.

Zhong Jin placed two baskets of fresh meat buns on the low table and turned to make soy milk.

Tongtong added a lethal amount of sugar to her soy milk bowl. Zhong Jin glanced at it but said nothing, urging her to eat quickly instead.

When they arrived at the station, they happened to run into Rao Shishi and Xiao Wang, who were bringing breakfast into the station. Zhong Jin called out to Rao Shishi, “I need to go to the municipal bureau for a bit; you take her inside.”

Rao Shishi hurried over, opened the back door, and carried Zhong Yuntong out.

Zhong Jin turned the car around and suddenly stopped, poking his head out of the window, “The sampling results from the identification center should be out today, right?”

Xiao Wang replied, “Yes, they came out last night. There’s a matching DNA sample; I’ll go pick up the results shortly.”

Zhong Jin glanced at the driver’s seat, “Get in; I’ll take you.”

As the SUV disappeared from view, Rao Shishi took Zhong Yuntong’s hand, “Let’s go; we should be able to find your parents today.”

Her gaze fell on the child’s head, and she sighed, “Is this hair or a bird’s nest?”

When Mao Feixue arrived at the station, Tongtong’s hair had already been styled. Today, she had two little braids, with two green fluffy balls tied at the ends.

“Tongbao, look what I brought you!” Mao Feixue shook the paper bag in her hand.

Zhong Yuntong bounced over, “What is it?”

Mao Feixue took out a box, opened it, and inside was a pair of pink little sneakers. “These are running shoes. When you wear them, your feet won’t get hurt while running and jumping.”

“Wow, Tongbao, you’re wearing new shoes today too?” Mao Feixue noticed that the child was also wearing a new pair of big-headed shoes.

Zhong Yuntong immediately showed off her new shoes to Mao Feixue, squatting down and poking at the flower on her shoe with her little hand, “Look, there are little flowers!”

“Really? So pretty! Did Director Zhong buy them for you?” Mao Feixue put the sneakers back in the paper bag. “Then you can alternate between the two pairs.”

Zhong Yuntong tilted her head and thought for a moment, then seriously pushed the paper bag away, “I don’t want them anymore.”

“Why not?”

Zhong Yuntong furrowed her little brows, “Because if I wear running shoes, I have to run all the time, and I’ll be too tired.”

Mao Feixue and Rao Shishi exchanged glances and burst out laughing. The police officers nearby also joined in the laughter, filling the He'an District Police Station with cheerful voices in the early morning.

Rao Shishi pinched Zhong Yuntong’s smooth little face, “You little rascal, if you leave, your sister will miss you.”

Xiao Wang picked up the DNA comparison results from the identification center. He opened the file bag on the spot and, upon seeing the matching information with Zhong Yuntong’s blood sample, his eyes widened in shock.

“This data can’t be wrong, right?” Xiao Wang found it hard to believe and confirmed with the teacher at the identification center again.

The other party, wearing a mask, looked at him curiously from behind the lenses, “Generally, there shouldn’t be any mistakes. The database has an automatic comparison function, and we also conducted a manual verification. If you have doubts, you can extract both parties’ blood samples again for a final comparison.”

Xiao Wang walked out of the identification center, staring at the sun-bleached ground, feeling dazed and unable to believe the results he had just seen.

Could Zhong Yuntong’s dad really be Director Zhong?

Then how could Director Zhong not know?

Who left Zhong Yuntong at the police station?

Why didn’t they see anyone like that in all the surveillance footage?

He sat down on the flowerbed at the entrance of the municipal bureau, right where he had hidden with Tongtong to eat grilled sausages two days ago. Although only two days had passed, it felt unreal, as if a lifetime had gone by.

Zhong Jin was holding the file bag, quickly walking down the steps from the entrance of the municipal bureau. When he saw Xiao Wang sitting on the flowerbed, he walked over, “Did you get the results?”

Xiao Wang numbly handed over the report, “I got them.”

Zhong Jin took it, opened it, and glanced at it. His face rarely showed exaggerated expressions, and even facing such a bizarre identification result, he only slightly tightened his lips, his expression not changing much.

He snapped the report shut, “Let’s head back.”

Xiao Wang hurried to follow him, “Director Zhong, let me drive.” Given the current situation, he was genuinely worried that Zhong Jin might drive into a ditch.

Zhong Jin tossed him the car keys.

On the way back to He'an, Xiao Wang was also restless. He occasionally glanced at Zhong Jin, who had his elbow resting on the window frame, staring outside, lost in thought.

The more Xiao Wang looked, the more he noticed Zhong Jin’s gaze drifted over to him, “Focus on driving.”

When they returned to the station, Zhong Jin maintained his usual demeanor, handling official business, and even went out on a call, bringing back a gang involved in scams.

However, it was Xiao Wang who couldn’t sit still. He worked at his desk but often found himself staring at Zhong Yuntong, who was sitting on a bench watching a tablet. He couldn’t tell if it was projection, but he noticed that when Zhong Yuntong pursed her lips, the curve of her mouth and chin bore a striking resemblance to Zhong Jin.

Finally, when Mao Feixue returned from her field duty, Xiao Wang rushed into her office, “Sister Mao, something happened.”

Mao Feixue thought it was an important police matter and immediately became serious.

Then she heard Xiao Wang say, “Tongtong is really Director Zhong’s daughter.”

Mao Feixue, “......?”