Chapter 3

After all, Zhong Yuntong was just a three-year-old child now, and no matter how strong she felt, she couldn't compete with two burly aunties at the bathhouse.

Zhong Jin waited outside for less than an hour when the aunties brought out a freshly washed Zhong Yuntong. Her long, damp hair was styled into a bun on top of her head, and the steam had given her cheeks a faint pink hue, making her look even more like a fluffy dough ball.

After leaving the bathhouse, Zhong Jin walked along the street with Zhong Yuntong for a while. Spotting a children's clothing store, he grabbed the back of the child's collar and pulled her inside as she looked around curiously.

On the right side of the store, there was a rack of discounted clothes, with a sign indicating a 50% off sale.

Zhong Jin casually picked out a T-shirt and shorts set from the discounted clothes, featuring a cartoon avocado design.

At the checkout, he noticed a row of snug little shorts hanging behind the counter and pointed to a pair with a pink bunny design. "I'll take one of those too."

Zhong Yuntong showed no interest in the new clothes Zhong Jin had chosen, or rather, she looked down on all the clothes in the store. The outfits she used to wear were made of shiny fabrics adorned with beautiful embroidery and gems; even the maids who served her wore clothes more extravagant than these.

After paying, Zhong Jin handed the paper bag to Zhong Yuntong. "Hold this yourself."

The child didn’t take it and reached out her hand instead. "Carry me."

"Walk by yourself." Zhong Jin never indulged children.

Zhong Yuntong lunged forward, firmly grabbing Zhong Jin's pant leg and then locking onto his sturdy calf, hanging onto him like an octopus.

As Zhong Jin took a step forward, the child was dragged along. It looked too strange to walk down the street like this. He had no choice but to scoop her up and carry her home.

With her arms wrapped around Zhong Jin's neck, she lay her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, swaying gently as she fell asleep. Her breathing grew deeper, but her arms still instinctively held tightly to his neck.

Zhong Jin had held children before. Back when they handled a human trafficking case, they rescued over a dozen children, and it was the officers — including him — who carried them all the way across provinces for thousands of kilometers.

But holding Zhong Yuntong now felt different from back then. Something about it felt strange, almost warm and stifling.

When he entered the elevator, Zhong Jin caught a glimpse of himself in the reflective walls of the cabin. A patch of his shoulder was already soaked with the child’s drool.

Zhong Jin closed his eyes and sighed. He was curious to see who the unfortunate child's parents were; a couple capable of producing a child like Zhong Yuntong must be quite something themselves.

When they got home, Zhong Jin placed Zhong Yuntong on the sofa and pulled a nearby blanket over her haphazardly before heading off to take a shower.

While showering, he tossed his dirty clothes into the washing machine along with the child's new clothes, planning to dry them after washing.

After his shower, Zhong Jin put on a black cotton T-shirt and loose cotton lounge pants. Tall and thin, he looked like a shadow in the dimly lit room. He used a towel to dry his damp short hair and walked over to the sofa, preparing to wake Zhong Yuntong to change her into sleepwear.

However, the sofa was empty; the blanket was crumpled in a heap beside it, and the child had slipped away again.

Zhong Jin looked around the living room and noticed the bedroom door was open - unusual, as he had a habit of closing doors behind him.

Sure enough, walking into the bedroom, he found Zhong Yuntong sprawled on the bed, her side pressed against the blanket. Her chubby cheeks were squished and deformed, her arms and legs spread out like a starfish. Her long hair was messy and damp, splayed across the bed, leaving a small wet spot on the bedding.

Children really are troublesome creatures.

Zhong Jin approached and shook Zhong Yuntong awake, then carried the swaying child to the bathroom, using a hairdryer to dry her hair.

The unfortunate child was short, and her thick, long black hair took a long time to dry completely.

Zhong Yuntong kept her eyes closed, impatiently waving her hand, ready to go back to sleep. Zhong Jin grabbed her again and took out the clothes from the dryer for her to change into. "Can you dress yourself?"

The child, still half-asleep, nodded her round head, her body sliding down like a noodle.

Zhong Jin felt a bit speechless. Fine, he thought, he would just take her to the bedroom and let her sleep. He could tidy up the bed after she was gone.

Once back on the bed, Zhong Yuntong, exhausted, snuggled into the blanket and fell into a deep sleep.

Zhong Jin returned to the sofa, lay back, and rested his arm over his eyes. He had a problem with insomnia, and today he didn’t know if it was due to the troublesome child, but he quickly fell asleep.

At 6:30 in the morning, Zhong Jin woke up on time. He had maintained the habit of waking up at 6:30 to run when he was studying at the police academy, especially when he had no tasks.

Just after waking up, Zhong Jin felt like something was pressing down on his forehead. Sitting up, he realized that Zhong Yuntong had somehow ended up on his pillow, sleeping like a little dog. She was sprawled on the pillow, snoring softly, and Zhong Jin had been pushed down, his head wedged in the gap at the edge of the pillow, leaving his neck stiff and sore.

Zhong Jin rubbed the back of his neck, puzzled. It was strange that he hadn’t woken up with all that movement from the child.

With Zhong Yuntong now in the house, Zhong Jin didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone, so he broke a running habit he had kept for nearly ten years. However, he still made a quick trip downstairs to the community supermarket to buy a children's toothbrush, toothpaste, and towels.

Around 8 AM, Zhong Jin sat at the dining table working on his laptop when he saw Zhong Yuntong suddenly sit up, her messy hair sticking out in all directions, her eyes blankly staring ahead.

Just as Zhong Jin was about to call her, Zhong Yuntong sleepily mumbled, "I need to pee."

Zhong Jin dropped his computer and rushed over, picking the child up and carrying her to the bathroom.

After a night of sleep, the silk jacket Zhong Yuntong had worn was wrinkled and crumpled. Zhong Jin took out the clothes he had washed the night before and handed them to her. "Can you change clothes by yourself?"

"I can," Zhong Yuntong replied confidently.

So, Zhong Jin waited outside for a moment. Zhong Yuntong emerged wearing a cartoon T-shirt and knee-length shorts that were crookedly tied around her, barefoot.

She lifted her face, looking proudly at Zhong Jin.

Zhong Jin expressionlessly adjusted her waistband.

Although Zhong Yuntong could dress herself, she didn’t know how to use a toothbrush, so Zhong Jin had to try to help her brush her teeth. The bathroom was filled with his frustrated voice.

"You can't bite the toothbrush."

"You can't swallow the toothpaste; spit it out."

After brushing her teeth, Zhong Jin wrung out a warm towel to wipe her face. The child was a bit delicate; even when he hadn’t applied much pressure, she deliberately squealed in protest.

As they were about to leave, Zhong Jin noticed the child's shoes—a pair of embroidered tiger-head shoes tossed haphazardly in the entrance. The entrance was dark since there were no windows, but he could see something on the tiger-head shoes glowing.

Zhong Jin squatted down and picked up one of the shoes to examine it.

The shoe was made of shiny satin, and the intricate patterns showed it was finely hand-embroidered. Each little tiger had a large bead adorning its forehead. That bead was what had been glowing, emitting a bluish-purple light.

Zhong Jin's work involved a wide range of knowledge, and he immediately recognized that the bead was a type of fluorite, glowing due to the rare earth elements contained in the mineral. In modern times, it wasn’t worth much, but in ancient times, due to the lack of information, fluorite was often referred to as a night pearl or bright moon pearl, which was a valuable gem.

In addition to the night pearl on the little tiger's forehead, each tiger's cheeks were adorned with several small pearl tassels, resembling whiskers.

These little tiger-head shoes were exquisitely made, unlike ordinary shoes. Such craftsmanship could easily be traced back to a specific brand or artisan, and from there, it wouldn’t be difficult to find the buyer.

Zhong Jin found an evidence bag and carefully placed the little tiger-head shoes inside. Carrying the barefoot Zhong Yuntong downstairs, he casually bought her a pair of plastic sandals to wear as they passed through the commercial street.

Deputy Director Mao Feixue of the He'an District Police Station arrived early that morning. Just as she reached the entrance, Officer Rao Shishi from her team rode up on a small electric scooter.

"Good morning, Sister Mao!" Rao Shishi called out from a distance.

Mao Feixue smiled at her and waited on the steps for Rao Shishi to join her, and the two walked into the station together.

"By the way, how's that child you found yesterday?" Mao Feixue casually asked.

Rao Shishi's face instantly lit up with gossip. She leaned closer to Mao Feixue and lowered her voice, "That child saw Director Zhong and immediately called him 'Father,' refusing to get off him. In the end, he took her home."

Mao Feixue raised her finely arched eyebrows. "What nonsense is that?"

"It's true!" Rao Shishi said, her eyes sparkling after applying eyeliner today.

"That child also has the surname Zhong, just like Director Zhong. She's exceptionally beautiful and dressed exquisitely, like a little princess. There's no way she could have been abandoned. Officer Wang and I were wondering if she might actually be Director Zhong's daughter. There could be some hidden story behind it."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Rao Shishi wanted to gossip a bit more, but Mao Feixue shot her a look that silenced her. After sending Rao Shishi away, Mao Feixue didn’t take her words to heart. Only she knew about Zhong Jin's situation in the capital city, and given that incident, it was impossible for Zhong Jin to have a daughter.

Today was already filled with too many unexpected events, and Mao Feixue quickly forgot about the conversation. It wasn't until she saw Zhong Jin walk into her office carrying a child that she was momentarily stunned. "Where did this child come from?"

Zhong Jin set the little girl down. "Lost child. Can you braid her hair? Please do something with it."

Mao Feixue looked at the little girl in front of her, dressed in a wrinkled green round-neck T-shirt and ill-fitting plastic sandals, with hair that looked like it had been through a tornado.

This was not what Rao Shishi had described; she had said the child was dressed exquisitely, like a little princess. How could Zhong Jin have taken care of her for a night and turned her from a princess into a refugee?