Chapter 27: A Windfall from the Heavens
Remembering how her parents had just been fighting, Jiajia’s resentment suddenly boiled over.
She snatched a rock from the ground and hurled it.
"This is all your fault! If it weren’t for you, Mom and Dad would never fight! Just die, you little brat!"
she screamed, crying.
Shanshan had already noticed her.
The instant the rock came flying, she lifted a hand and flicked it lightly.
The rock instantly reversed direction and—THWACK!—smashed right into Jiajia’s own head.
Luckily, Shanshan had held back, using only thirty percent of her strength.
Otherwise, the blow would have surely split her head open.
Even so, Jiajia shrieked in pain.
"WAAAH! A monster! She’s a monster! Mommy, save me!"
She scrambled backward, crying and shouting.
Watching the little girl bawling her eyes out, Shanshan felt a headache coming on.
’How can a child be so nasty?’
’She’s always looking for trouble.’
’I need to find a way to teach her a lesson, so she won’t come looking for trouble every day.’
Jiajia backed away, wiping her tears.
Shanshan sauntered closer.
Suddenly, an idea struck her, and the corners of her mouth lifted in a slight smirk.
’If she’s so scared of me, then I’ll give her something to really be scared of.’
At that thought, her round eyes suddenly narrowed, glowing with a layer of molten-gold flame.
"AHHHH!"
Jiajia had never seen anything like it.
Those weren’t human eyes; they looked like the child-eating monsters from legends!
Her throat constricted, and the scream died in her throat.
Trembling violently, her knees gave out and she collapsed to the ground.
"Be quiet!"
Shanshan roared in her high, childish voice.
Recognizing the voice as the same as before, Jiajia relaxed slightly.
She bit down hard on her lower lip and squeezed her eyes shut, covering them with her hands.
"If you ever dare to bother me again, I’ll gobble you up! Do you understand? Eating little kids is my favorite!"
After speaking, Shanshan deliberately stuck out her tongue, making a "HISS HISS" sound.
Jiajia was so frightened she shuddered, and goosebumps instantly broke out on her arms.
"I-I get it... Jiajia gets it..."
She nodded her little head rapidly, terrified she’d be gobbled up if she were a second too slow.
Seeing that her goal was accomplished, a triumphant smile spread across Shanshan’s face.
Then she turned, humming a tune, and strolled away.
Jiajia remained curled up in the corner, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, sobbing brokenly.
But she didn’t dare go back.
The memory of her mother calling her useless replayed over and over in her mind.
As she thought about it, her nose began to sting, and she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. They streamed down her face.
Just as Liu Yingzi pushed open her front door, she heard sobbing from a corner in the distance.
"Jiajia? Where are you? Jiajia!"
She immediately followed the faint sound of crying.
Seeing her daughter’s small face purple with cold, Liu Yingzi’s heart clenched.
She rushed over and swept the child into her arms.
"I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Mommy was wrong. I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you. Let’s go home, okay? Mommy will never scold you again, how does that sound?"
"Mommy... Jiajia’s scared... Mommy..."
Jiajia was crying so hard she could barely breathe.
It was a late afternoon in the dead of winter, and she was only wearing a thin sweater. She was cold, frightened, and had been crying.
That night, not long after they got home and put her to bed, her forehead was burning hot.
The couple immediately forgot about their bickering.
Liu Yingzi wiped away her tears as she wrapped Jiajia in a blanket, and Cao Daqiang immediately heaved the child onto his back and rushed to the clinic.
Thanks to her parents’ attentive care, Jiajia’s fever broke in two days.
Color returned to her cheeks, and the light came back to her eyes.
Cao Daqiang, however, was a different story.
Not only did his foot injury fail to improve, but it actually grew worse by the day.
"Captain Cao, we can’t let this go on."
The doctor sighed, shaking his head as he unwrapped the bandage on Cao Daqiang’s foot.
"This wound looks badly swollen and red, and it’s oozing some kind of yellow fluid. I’m afraid it’s infected. I suggest you go to the hospital for an examination. Get an X-ray, find out what the real problem is. You need to treat this early. Don’t let it drag on and become a chronic issue. If you end up with a permanent disability, what will you do with the rest of your life?"
After dressing the wound, the doctor supported Cao Daqiang by the arm and helped him walk slowly outside.
Every step felt like his ankle was being seared by fire.
Liu Yingzi was waiting anxiously by the door, her face etched with worry.
The moment she saw him emerge, she rushed forward to help.
She took one of his arms while her other hand gently supported his back.
Neither of them spoke for a while as they walked.
After they had walked some distance, Liu Yingzi finally spoke in a low voice.
"I’ll start packing as soon as we get home. We can’t put this off any longer with your foot. Let’s make a plan tonight and leave first thing the day after tomorrow. The hospital is far, so we need to leave extra time for travel, just in case there are any hiccups along the way."
Cao Daqiang nodded, his voice heavy.
"Okay. Pack some of the kid’s clothes, too. If... if they find something seriously wrong, she’ll have to stay with us."
Unexpectedly, just as they rounded the corner of the alley, they bumped into one of Ling Anxun’s men.
The man was in a military uniform, holding a briefcase, and standing by the side of the road as if waiting for a ride.
He looked up and recognized Cao Daqiang.
"Captain Cao, what a coincidence. What are you doing here?"
Cao Daqiang gritted his teeth against the pain and forced a smile.
"Yes, just getting my dressing changed. And you...?"
"Following orders,"
the man replied nonchalantly.
"Looking for someone."
They were headed in the same direction, so they walked and chatted together.
"By the way, Captain Cao, are there any little girls about three or four years old in your family compound? Round face, big eyes, kind of curly hair?"
Cao Daqiang and his wife exchanged a look.
Both of their pupils constricted, and they held their breath in near unison.
But the smile never left Cao Daqiang’s face; in fact, it grew even warmer.
"Oh, we have plenty of kids that age in our compound. Is there anything special about the one you’re looking for?"
"Round face, big eyes, about this tall."
The man gestured, indicating a height around his knee.
"Naturally curly hair, a bit on the blond side, with a small lock of hair tied up at the back. She has a red mole behind her left ear—it’s small, but you can see it. As for clothes, she should be wearing a little navy-blue padded jacket with small pompoms on the collar."
As he listened, Cao Daqiang’s heart jolted.
"Ha, comrade, you’re not a father yet, are you?"
He clapped the man on the shoulder, his tone teasing.
"What little girl this age isn’t round-faced with big eyes? Look at my daughter—she’s a pipsqueak just like that, round face and big eyes. If you go by that description, you’ll have to round up every kid in the compound, and you still might not find her, right?"
The man looked a bit embarrassed and chuckled.
"But what can I do?"
He shrugged, spreading his hands helplessly.
"My superior gave me the order and insisted I find this girl. Said she’s extremely important. But where am I supposed to look? I don’t even have a photo, just a verbal description... It’s a tough spot, right?"
Cao Daqiang offered a few smiling, noncommittal replies, but his mind was already racing.
’Heh, isn’t this a golden opportunity that’s just fallen into my lap?’
’I don’t know how that little brat got so damn lucky, getting connected to a superior officer!’
’But since this guy has never even seen the girl, why not have Jiajia take her place?’
Afraid his wife would ruin his plan, Cao Daqiang didn’t say a single truthful word about it.
After they got off the bus, Liu Yingzi hurried to catch up, her voice laced with suspicion.
"What were you and that man talking about? What are you hiding from me?"
He didn’t break his stride, just gave a dismissive wave of his hand and muttered some excuse.