Come Home, My Child (Part 5)

By the time he returned with the money, the little girl had already fallen asleep. She lay curled on the sofa, her small hands still clutching the plastic box containing the shuttlecock made of chicken feathers. In her sleep, she sobbed occasionally, mumbling in a low voice. Gu Fadian leaned in close and heard her whisper: "Mommy, don't hit me... it hurts... hurts... shuttlecock..."

He didn't trust his underlings to buy what was needed, but he was afraid that if he went himself, Ban Xia would wake up alone and be terrified. Suddenly remembering something, he went into his room. The two underlings followed him and were shocked to see him rummaging through the wardrobe and pulling out several small dresses. "Big Brother, what kind of hobby is this? A guy buying little dresses—don't tell me you're planning to wear these?"

"Shut up. These were bought by my mother for my sister. She died before she could ever wear them," Gu Fadian said.

One child had been born into a family's total devotion, with clothes bought in advance until she was eighteen, yet she had passed away, leaving her parents half-dead with grief and leaving him to live in the shadow of guilt, believing he had killed her. And here was another child, so well-behaved, yet she was being heartlessly abused by her parents!

"Big Brother Fa, you're so strange. Why do you like this little sister so much?" Qi Kai asked suddenly.

Gu Fadian turned around. "Like her? My ass. I hate kids the most, especially girls. I'm doing this because I can't stand injustice!"

After the residents moved into the new building, the old residential compound was almost deserted. At dusk, only a few elderly people strolled slowly through the courtyard. Ban Xia still hadn't woken up. As darkness fell, the two underlings went home. Gu Fadian took the opportunity to head out, lugging back a large crate of fruit milk, a pile of eggs, noodles, and several bunches of bok choy.

Passing by the new compound, he heard security guards calling out for Ban Xia. Someone must have noticed her disappearance and was searching for her, so Gu Fadian quickly hurried away. Just as he entered the old courtyard, he saw Officer Zhao waiting for him.

"Dian Dian, Qin Xiu just got home and couldn't find her daughter, so she called the police. Where is the child? She's at your place, isn't she?"

Gu Fadian was stunned, then gave a cold sneer. "Qin Xiu abused that child and nearly beat her to death, and you people just let her go? What, did she bribe you, or did she use her connections from above?"

Qin Xiu had only been taken away two hours ago, and she was already released?

Officer Zhao didn't get angry and explained, "The medical clinic's diagnosis is that the child has superficial injuries, classified as minor. When a guardian causes minor injury to a ward during the course of upbringing, the police department issues administrative penalties or warnings based on the severity. Because of the nature of the incident, Qin Xiu was fined two hundred yuan."