Li Si nodded. "I just happened to help her. At the ti, her ex-husband was publicly threatening her, demanding compensation for ’lost youth,’ and he wanted her future earnings to be handed over to him..." She elaborated on the events in detail.
Heizi listened attentively, nodding while occasionally interjecting with questions, all of which Li Si answered one by one.
anwhile, Long Wu listened from the side, his eyes increasingly ablaze with fury. Knowing this now, he regretted holding back earlier when he encountered that man in the morning. But it wasn’t too late!
At that mont, the door to the hypnosis room finally opened. The hypnotist, a man wearing black-rimd glasses, stepped out and said in a profound tone, "Team Leader Yu, there’s a developnt!"
Heizi gave him a look indicating they should discuss it later, his focus firmly on what was behind the hypnotist.
"Where’s ng ng?" Long Wu asked urgently, looking past him as Su ng walked out, her face streaked with tears.
"ng ng, did you rember?" Long Wu panicked. Was sothing wrong? Was she still harboring resentnt toward him?
Su ng shook her head. Her face was a complex blend of grief and sadness. During the hypnosis session, she had revisited events from seven years ago and finally glimpsed so images—images that shattered her heart.
First was a heated argunt with a woman in red, with Long Wu pushing her aside; then the image shifted to her alone on a train, exiting the station and being forcibly shoved into a car by two n—one tall, the other short.
The vision shifted again; this ti, she was desperately running away, soone chasing close behind. The final image was her falling off a cliff, the spinning sky and landscape filling her eyes as she plumted.
Su ng clenched her fists tightly, overco by an urge to draw out those scenes. She hesitated before saying, "Is there paper and a pen? I want to sketch it out."
Heizi exclaid happily, "Of course! Let’s go to my office to draw!"
Once in the office, he quickly grabbed a few sheets of white A4 paper and a pencil from the table and handed them to her.
Long Wu and the others couldn’t contain their excitent. If Su ng could depict the images she saw, it would be incredibly helpful. Descriptions could never match the clarity of pictures.
Heizi and the hypnotist left to talk, leaving just Li Si, Leng Mochen seated on one sofa, while Long Wu stood frozen beside the desk, gazing intently and affectionately at Su ng as she concentrated on drawing. He couldn’t see enough of her.
Li Si occasionally glanced at Su ng, her head lowered and absorbed in her drawings, wondering what exactly had happened to her back then. It was an earth-shattering ordeal, but thankfully, she had been found.
Yet the damage was already done. Seeing her mother, still clouded in madness, Li Si silently resolved to try giving the elderly woman so river water soday, in hopes it might restore her sanity—at least enough for her to truly recognize her own daughter.
This was the unbearable pain of life. They had found the child, but the husband was gone forever—another woman with a cruel fate.
Not long afterward, Su ng finished sketching rapidly across several sheets of paper. Heizi entered with a solemn expression, treading lightly to avoid disturbing her concentration.
Long Wu gave him a questioning look, wanting an update on the situation. Heizi responded with a reassuring expression.
Finally, Su ng let out a deep breath, closed her eyes montarily, then opened them to look at the group. "I’m finished drawing!"
Heizi rushed forward to pick up the sheets of paper. After flipping through the first one, his eyes widened in disbelief upon seeing the second drawing. He cursed aloud, "Holy... isn’t this..."
Long Wu snatched it imdiately, his face equally stunned: "How could it be him! Leng Er, Sisi, look quickly!"
Li Si and Leng Mochen hurriedly took the paper and were just as incredulous. The person in the drawing was unquestionably the tall man who had tried to abduct Li Si near Pan Garden years ago.
"How could it be him? That trash of a human being!" Li Si could still vividly rember him as though it were yesterday—an unforgettable, traumatic encounter.
Leng Mochen grasped her trembling hand. "It’s all in the past now."
"Where is this man?"
Long Wu asked urgently, his anger boiling over. If not for Leng Er’s insistence at the ti, he might have missed rescuing Li Si, and finding ng ng now would’ve been nearly impossible amidst the sea of people.
It was as if fate had a plan all along!
Heizi, similarly reflective, said, "That man is currently detained at the Second Detention Center. I’ll get him brought in for questioning!"
Long Wu made as if to follow, but Heizi stopped him, addressing the group firmly: "You all head back first! I’ll inform you of any developnts promptly. This next step isn’t sothing you can be part of! Su ng, when this is over, Brother Heizi will throw you a welcoming feast!"
Su ng was moved by the title "Brother Heizi," her eyes reddened as she softly replied, "Okay."
After leaving, they found a hot pot restaurant. Once seated, none of them touched their chopsticks, letting the bubbling spicy broth fill the air with its rich aroma.
Long Wu couldn’t hold back. He looked at Su ng, sitting far away from him yet next to Li Si, and said, "ng ng! I’m sorry! Back then..."
"Don’t say it! I don’t rember back then, and I don’t want to talk about it now!"
Su ng couldn’t suppress her pain. From those images, she knew it was all true. But everything was irretrievably lost—her late father, her ill mother, all the suffering she endured over the years. Who would take responsibility?
Li Si, deeply empathetic, grasped Su ng’s hand, lending her strength. She understood that feeling well. When she returned to life after her own ordeal, her heart carried the sa sentint: Why couldn’t it have happened before her father passed away? She could’ve made excuses to keep him from going to the river to fish, perhaps stopping him from dying while saving soone else.
"ng ng! It’s better not to dwell. Let’s eat first. You need energy to accomplish what you want to do! Think about your mom—she’s still unwell.
The deceased are gone, and for those of us still living, no amount of sorrow can change that. Why obsess over these things? Your return is a trendous blessing! At least now, you don’t have to live in confusion anymore, right?" Li Si encouraged.
Su ng seed to realize sothing and nodded. "Okay." Then she glanced at the group but let her gaze lightly pass over Long Wu. "You all should eat too."
Long Wu wanted to say more but stayed silent under Leng Mochen’s subtle cue. He picked up a few pieces of leafy greens and ate them as a formality.
After their al, each still lost in their thoughts, Su ng quietly pleaded, "Li Si, I know you’re kind and a good person. Please let bring my mom to live with so I can take care of her. I don’t want to trouble him anymore."
Li Si glanced uncomfortably at Long Wu’s pained expression and asked Su ng directly, "Is this your decision?"
Su ng nodded firmly. "I’m begging you."
"Alright," Li Si reluctantly agreed. At this mont, she knew pushing Su ng too hard wouldn’t help. Besides, having the elderly woman close would allow her to help as well.
When Su ng made her decision, Long Wu vehently opposed it: "I don’t agree! All along, I’ve had people caring for her. How can a young girl like you manage? Besides, your ho was demolished last year, and the new building hasn’t been completed yet. It’s better for to keep taking care of her. You can visit my place whenever you want."
He feared that once the elderly woman was taken away, even seeing Su ng again would beco difficult. Her stubbornness worried him...
Su ng smiled bitterly. A young girl? She was long past being a fragile little girl! How ironic to still hear such words from his mouth.
But everything was irreversible now! If ti could rewind, she would choose never to have t him. Maybe then she wouldn’t have endured all this, and her family wouldn’t have been shattered. Perhaps her thoughts were extre, but soone had to bear the bla. She needed an outlet... (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile readers, please visit m.qidian for the full text.)
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