TPW – Chapter 92

Misfortunes never come singly. Just as Qiao Lu’s son went missing, before Song Qingping even had the chance to comfort her, her own son, Chen Botao, went missing too!

He was only two years older than Qiao An! And also disappeared on his way home from school!

Before everyone even had time to console Qiao Lu, they now had to start comforting Song Qingping as well.

Upon hearing that Qiao An was missing, Qiao Yan took time off work and rushed to the compound.

After a quick search around the entrance, she couldn’t find anyone. The neighbors told her Qiao Lu had fainted and been sent to the hospital, so she turned and hurried over there in a panic.

But just as she left the inner courtyard, she ran into Qiao Lu, who had just come back from the hospital. With Li Hongjun supporting her, she was slowly getting off the bicycle. Her lips were so pale they were almost transparent—completely drained of color.

Qiao Yan quickly rushed up to hug her tightly. “Qiao Lu! How are you feeling? Are you okay? Did you find An’an?”

Qiao Lu was so overwhelmed with grief that she couldn’t even speak. She opened her mouth, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, painfully shaking her head.

With Li Hongjun’s help, she slowly walked into the house, and Qiao Yan hurried to support her other arm.

As they entered the bedroom and saw the traces that still belonged to Qiao An, the tears that Qiao Lu had barely managed to hold back finally spilled out again.

“Sister… Sister…” she sobbed uncontrollably as she hugged her tightly, her whole body trembling.

“It’s going to be okay. Calm down. We’ll ask more people to help us search. We will find him, we will.” At a time like this, there was nothing Qiao Yan could do but offer these powerless words of comfort. There was no way to share her sister’s pain.

After settling her down, and seeing that Qiao Yan was there, Li Hongjun finally felt he could leave. “Sis-in-law, stay here with her. I’m going back out to keep searching.”

Qiao Lu was so exhausted she didn’t even turn her head. She simply listened to the sound of Li Hongjun’s footsteps as they faded farther and farther away. Soon, only the chirping of sparrows was left in the yard—a lively sound, yet full of loneliness.

“Where’s Haizhou?” Qiao Yan asked.

“Still out looking.” Qiao Lu had wanted to go too, but the overwhelming grief and exhaustion had caused her to faint.

She’d slept for about two hours, and when she woke up she was disoriented and weak, barely able to walk. Xu Haizhou was afraid she’d collapse again and wouldn’t let her go out to look. In the end, they compromised—he asked Li Hongjun to take her home, but still refused to let her out to search for their son.

“How’s Zhiwei? Has he been doing well lately?” Even at a time like this, Qiao Lu still had the heart to care about her second sister’s child.

Qiao Yan wiped away her tears, a bit helpless and bitter. “He’s good—very good. If I’d known, I would’ve brought him along. It’s been one or two months since he last saw you. He’s gotten so chubby. Maybe if you saw him, it’d cheer you up a little.”

Qiao Lu forced a strained smile, her dry lips parting slightly. “He’s barely over a year old, can’t even talk properly—how could he cheer me up?”

“It’s different. Zhiwei’s such a clingy little thing. He just loves nuzzling people’s faces…” As she spoke, Qiao Lu’s expression shifted, and Qiao Yan quickly stopped herself.

Bragging about her own son at a time like this—wasn’t that just rubbing salt in the wound?

Sigh… what a mess.

After comforting Qiao Lu for a while, and seeing it was getting late, Qiao Yan went to the market to buy some groceries and came back intending to cook her sister a meal.

After returning, she scooped out a few bowls of rice from the rice jar to rinse, but was suddenly stopped by Qiao Lu.

“Sister… use this…” she said weakly, pointing to the rice cooker.

“I’ll do it,” Qiao Yan offered. But she didn’t know how to use a rice cooker and had no idea where to begin. So Qiao Lu took the rice from her hands and, trembling, poured it into the cooker’s inner pot.

It took only two simple steps—plug it in, press the button—and the rice cooker began cooking automatically. No supervision needed.

“Huh? What is this thing? You just throw the rice in, and it’ll cook on its own? You don’t need to watch it?” There wasn’t even a flame—how did it cook?

Qiao Yan cautiously touched the outer shell of the rice cooker. It was cold. This thing can cook rice?

“Mhm. Haizhou bought it.” Seeing it triggered memories. Qiao Lu recalled how, just a few days ago, her son had excitedly told her that now they had a rice cooker, he could cook by himself.

Even if Mom and Dad weren’t home, he wouldn’t go hungry.

Qiao Lu couldn’t hold it in any longer. She covered her face and broke down in heart-wrenching sobs.

Qiao Yan scrambled to hug her and wipe away her tears. “Aiyo, why are you crying again? Don’t cry, don’t cry…”

Her crying was so gut-wrenching that Qiao Yan couldn’t bear to watch. And imagining her own child going missing like that… she doubted she’d handle it any better than Qiao Lu.

After crying herself out, Qiao Lu sat in a chair, sniffling. Seeing this, Qiao Yan gently comforted her, then quickly returned to the kitchen to finish cooking.

Throughout the process, she kept glancing into the room. Seeing that Qiao Lu hadn’t run off or started crying again, she finally relaxed.

She brought the finished dishes into the room, only to find Qiao Lu had fallen asleep at the table—completely exhausted after crying and not sleeping for a full day and night.

Qiao Yan was just about to wake her when Xu Haizhou rushed in with two boxed meals.

“Second Sister?” He looked surprised to see her. “Where’s Qiao Lu?”

Forgive Xu Haizhou for being frantic and flustered. The exhaustion of both mind and body made him overlook Qiao Lu, who was lying right in front of him.

“Your wife probably cried herself to sleep.”

Xu Haizhou lowered his head. When he saw Qiao Lu, he quietly let out a breath.

Taking a deep breath, he walked over, set down the lunchbox, and bent over to gently hold her in his arms.

Qiao Yan was full of mixed emotions. She sighed bitterly and untied her apron. “I’ll go back and bring a few people to help look for the child. You take good care of her.”

“Alright. Safe travels, Second Sister.”

The moment Xu Haizhou held her, Qiao Lu was jolted awake. She gripped his forearm tightly and asked anxiously, “Haizhou, what about the child? Did you find him?”

In truth, Qiao Lu already knew: if they had found the child, Xu Haizhou would’ve rushed to tell her the good news.

The fact that he didn’t say anything… meant they still hadn’t…

He stared at her silently, taking in her bloodshot eyes and tear-streaked face, saying nothing for a long time.

At last, a bitter curve tugged at his thin lips. Seeing it, Qiao Lu’s nose stung, and fresh tears fell again.

“Don’t cry. Don’t cry—your eyes are all swollen.” His rough fingertips gently wiped her tears, eyes filled with sorrow.

“Let me go. Let me help. We’ll search together…” Qiao Lu pleaded desperately.

Xu Haizhou’s eyes reddened, a haze of mist in his pupils. He gripped her shoulders tightly. “Stay home, okay? Your health is in no condition to be running around. If something happens to you too, what am I supposed to do?”

A suffocating silence hung in the air.

Qiao Lu stared blankly for a moment, then finally lost control. Her voice hoarse, she threw her arms around him and sobbed.

“What about An’an? He’s so little—still just a baby! Haizhou… you have to find him… you must…”

Tears fell silently down her cheeks.

But Xu Haizhou couldn’t cry—not in front of his wife. He couldn’t let her see.

He was the pillar of this home. If he collapsed, then this family really would be finished.

After hurriedly scarfing down a few bites of food, Xu Haizhou went back out to continue the search.

He and two of his brothers were keeping watch at the train station entrance. Others were stationed at the bus station, and at all entry and exit points around the city.

He had called in every favor he could, no matter how distant or unfamiliar the connection. As long as someone could help him find his son, he was willing to do anything.

In those days, ordinary families didn’t own cars. It wasn’t easy to smuggle a child out of town without being noticed.

The real fear was that someone might stuff the child into a bag or a box. That way, sure, it might be harder to detect—but the danger to the child would be enormous!

That was why the couple was so desperate.

Heaven, please watch over them. Even if they can’t find the boy, at least don’t let anything bad happen to him!

Still, after another full day stationed at the train station, they had nothing to show for it.

Somehow, Li Xiuxiu got wind of the news that Qiao Lu’s child had gone missing, and came running to the courtyard carrying her baby.

Trailing behind her were two little ones, dressed as they always were—but for once, they actually had thin jackets on.

Li Xiuxiu’s family of five was still living in that broken-down temple. Zhao Quan, a man born and raised in the countryside, had nothing but brute strength.

He later found a job at the docks hauling heavy sacks—two yuan a day. But work wasn’t guaranteed daily. If there was no cargo, he’d stay home and wait.

By the end of the month, they just barely scraped together thirty yuan. Honestly, it wasn’t much worse than farm work back home.

As for Li Xiuxiu—though she had finished junior high, the years spent in the countryside had left her with no real skills beyond farming.

Now, her main role was to take care of the kids at the temple, occasionally chatting with old neighbors when she could.

She had been looking for a chance to play the pity card in front of Qiao Lu, but hadn’t seen her around lately. Rumor had it the couple was too busy with their business to be easily found.

The one time they finally came home after work, they ate dinner and immediately went back out for a walk. Even when she wanted to approach them, she had no opportunity.

But heaven never closes all doors. Now, she had finally heard the news: Qiao Lu’s child had gone missing—and there was a good chance he wouldn’t be found.

So Li Xiuxiu quickly brought her baby over to “see what was going on.”

Qiao Lu used to have a pretty decent impression of Li Xiuxiu. She thought that even though Xiuxiu was living in a broken-down temple, she never came to make trouble or demand the house back—surely she couldn’t be that unreasonable deep down.

But after just a few words of fake comfort, her true nature showed.

“Qiao Lu, sweetheart, don’t be so sad. If the child really can’t be found, then…” Li Xiuxiu made a face like she was making a great sacrifice. One hand clutched her chest, while the other passed her infant over. “I’ll give you my son.”

With those words, not just Qiao Lu—even everyone else in the room—was stunned.

Wham! It was like someone had hurled a basketball at Qiao Lu’s forehead. Her head spun, her vision sparkled with stars, and she was left utterly dumbfounded.

“Get out! You—get out! Get lost!”

Her own child was still missing, tearing her apart with grief—and Li Xiuxiu had the gall to offer her own baby as a replacement?!

What kind of mother does that?! Does she even deserve to be one?!

Qiao Lu was emotionally and physically exhausted. Every kind of fatigue was crashing down on her. She didn’t know where the strength came from, but she pushed Li Xiuxiu out the door with all her might. “Get out!”

Qiao Lu had never been this angry in her life. Never once had she screamed like this in front of outsiders.

“What happened? What’s going on?”

The neighbors watching from the doorway rushed to fill in the newcomers, explaining the vicious thing Li Xiuxiu had just said.

Qiao Lu’s eyes were so swollen from crying that every new tear felt like scalding water burning the corners of her eyes.

Now, anger made her cry all over again.

When Xu Haizhou returned home after searching for the child, he saw his wife surrounded by people, face buried in her hands, weeping uncontrollably. He dropped his bicycle and rushed over without hesitation.

He held her tightly, arms trembling.

Scanning the room, his eyes quickly landed on Li Xiuxiu.

His brows knit tightly. “Did you bully her?”

Li Xiuxiu shrank back under the sharpness of his gaze, swallowing hard. “I… I’m all alone. How could I bully her?”

The implication was that, with so many people here, it could only be Qiao Lu bullying her—not the other way around.

Already devastated to the point of heartbreak, Qiao Lu now felt a pain stabbing in her chest from rage.

“She said she’d give you her youngest son. Since your Qiao An’s never coming back anyway!” Chen Jiamei shivered under the frost in Xu Haizhou’s gaze and hurriedly clarified, “Hey, why’re you looking at me like that? That’s what she said. I’m just repeating it—not my words!”

Then she turned to look at Li Xiuxiu.

The man’s eyes darkened like an icy lake. A storm brewed in his pupils, cold fury rising with it. “To say something like that at a time like this—are you even human?”