Qiao Jiusheng did not speak.

A commotion suddenly sounded in the village in front of them. There were police sirens and police warnings coming from the loudspeaker.

Qiao Jiusheng carried Fang Taoran to the entrance of the village and met the police officer in charge of this operation. After saying a few words, she carried Fang Taoran into a house.

In the house, there were more than a dozen adults who had been handcuffed and nearly twenty disabled children. Some of them had broken hands, some had broken feet. The only one who was in good health was the boy who had sung before.

How could there be so many disabled children?

Fang Taoran widened her eyes and stared at these disabled children. In an instant, she guessed something and her face turned pale.

After the police took the human traffickers away and brought the disabled children to the police station for filing, Qiao Jiusheng returned to the hotel with Fang Taoran. Fang Taoran sat by the bed in a daze and lost the ability to speak.

Qiao Jiusheng squatted in front of her.

She looked up at her daughter’s pale face and held Fang Taoran’s hand. In the summer, Fang Taoran’s hand was cold. Qiao Jiusheng endured the pity in her heart and said to Fang Taoran, “Ran Ran, do you know what would happen to you if you were taken away by human traffickers and we didn’t find you?”

Fang Taoran rolled her eyes and remained silent.

Qiao Jiusheng told her, “If you’re lucky, you’ll be sold by strangers to be an adopted daughter. If you’re unlucky, you’ll be raised as a child bride. If you’re even more miserable, you’ll be like them. You’ll be broken by human traffickers and forced to beg on the streets.”

“Wow!”

Fang Taoran broke down and cried.

She was trembling all over. As she cried, she said, “Mom, stop it, stop it! I won’t run away from home again. Mom, I was wrong!”

Qiao Jiusheng grabbed Fang Taoran’s hand and forced him to look at her.

Fang Taoran was forced to stare at Qiao Jiusheng.

“Ran Ran.” Qiao Jiusheng touched Fang Taoran’s hair sadly. She placed her forehead on Fang Taoran’s forehead and said, “Ran Ran, Dad hit you not because he was angry with you, but because he doted on you.”

“You don’t know how terrible Dad will feel if something happens to you. Dad will go crazy.”

“Ran Ran, Dad loves you so much. How can you make Dad sad?”

After Qiao Jiusheng’s guidance, Fang Taoran, who had been filled with hatred for Fang Yusheng, instantly understood her father’s painstaking efforts. She bumped into Qiao Jiusheng’s arms and hugged her as she cried for a long time.

After crying, Fang Taoran made a request to Qiao Jiusheng. “Mom, I want to borrow your phone to call Dad.”

Qiao Jiusheng agreed.

She turned on her phone, opened Fang Yusheng’s number, and called him.

The call was picked up very quickly. Fang Yusheng called out to Ah Sheng on the other end and said, “Ah Sheng, why did you suddenly go to GZ City? Why didn’t you tell me what you were going to do? You made me worry. If Bufan hadn’t called and said that you guys went to GZ City, I wouldn’t have known…”

“Dad,” Fang Taoran called him softly.

The chattering man on the other end of the phone suddenly fell silent.

Fang Yusheng did not say anything, but he did not hang up.

Fang Taoran thought of what he had seen before and recalled the last time he ran away from home. When he was brought home, his father’s eyes were filled with tears when he looked at him. She felt terrible, and Fang Taoran burst into tears.

Fang Taoran suddenly burst into tears, startling Fang Yusheng.

Fang Yusheng could not be ruthless to his daughter.

He said softly, “Why are you crying?”

Her father’s tone was very stiff, but Fang Taoran still felt sour in her heart. As she rubbed her eyes, she apologized to Fang Yusheng. “I’m sorry, Dad. I was wrong. Ran Ran shouldn’t have run around and was almost kidnapped by human traffickers. Ran Ran was insensible and made Dad worry and afraid. Ran Ran deserved to be beaten.”

“Dad, I’m sorry. If you still refuse to forgive Ran Ran, then when you come back tomorrow, you can continue to beat Ran Ran up, okay?”

Without hearing Fang Yusheng speak, Fang Taoran thought that Fang Yusheng was still angry at him, so he said, “I’m serious, Dad. Can you hit Ran Ran’s butt again?”

This was the first time Fang Taoran had taken the initiative to beg someone to hit him.

“…Sigh!” Fang Yusheng sighed.

Fang Taoran pricked up her ears, afraid that she would miss every word her father was about to say. “Tell me what Mom brought you to do today.”

Fang Taoran told Fang Yusheng everything she had seen today.

After hearing her words, Fang Yusheng said, “Mom is also very worried about you. Those few days, your mother was always crying secretly. Fang Taoran, you should apologize to your mother.”

“I apologized to her.”

“You should also apologize to your grandparents and both brothers. They’re just as worried about you.”

“I’ll call them and apologize immediately.”

“Yeah.”

Fang Yusheng nodded and stopped talking.

Fang Taoran was not confident and asked Fang Yusheng, “Then Dad, have you forgiven me?”

Fang Yusheng felt awkward.

Forgive a four-year-old girl? Why did it sound like he was very childish?

“I forgive you.”

“I love your father!” Fang Taoran kissed Fang Yusheng excitedly on the other end of the phone. Fang Yusheng scolded her jokingly, “Give the phone to your mother.”

“Okay.”

Fang Yusheng chatted with Qiao Jiusheng for a while more before ending the call.

The next day, when Qiao Jiusheng and Fang Taoran left the hotel with their small bags, they met the young man who had sung last night at the entrance of the hotel. The young man was wearing clean clothes today. The clothes did not fit him well, so they should belong to someone else.

His long and messy hair was cut short with a pair of scissors, and his body had been washed. Only then did Qiao Jiusheng realize that the young man was actually quite good-looking. The lines of his clear eyebrows, clear lips, and nose were also very deep. His black eyes had a depth and steadiness that did not match his age.

The twelve-year-old boy stood at the entrance of the hotel. His eyes were firm and he had an unyielding aura.

He was like a pine tree standing in the cold wind.

Qiao Jiusheng noticed the boy and stopped in her tracks. She did not walk towards the boy but turned around and walked towards the taxi. Fang Taoran glanced at the boy and his lips moved a few times. In the end, he did not speak and followed Qiao Jiusheng into the car.

The boy saw that Qiao Jiusheng had clearly discovered him and recognized his identity, but she pretended not to know him. His heart felt empty and he was a little flustered.

This woman was his only way out. He had to fight for something for himself.

The boy clenched his fists before letting go. He suddenly strode towards Qiao Jiusheng. “Madam.” The boy’s voice was clear and distinct from his fierce tone last night.