TPW – Chapter 96

“Mom, I don’t want to be a tadpole, I don’t want to…”

“You won’t be, An’an won’t be. An’an will always be An’an, not a tadpole.”

Qiao Lu kissed his burning little face and wrapped his small hand in her own, unwilling to let go even a little. “Good boy, your voice is so hoarse. Don’t cry, let’s stop talking for now. How about some water and a little rest?”

“Mm…” He was still so obedient. Whatever Mom said, went.

Xu Haizhou quickly brought over the plain congee that Yu Fan had brought and fed it to their son.

But the little guy refused to eat. When asked why, his answer moved Qiao Lu to tears.

“Mom eats first.” His own throat was dry to the point of smoking, and yet he was still thinking of his mom.

She truly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Qiao Lu took a symbolic sip of the congee, her dry throat soothed by the warm, comforting liquid. It really did feel much better.

“Mmm, it’s tasty. An’an, come eat now.”

“Ah—” The little guy opened his mouth, wanting her to feed him.

In truth, it had been a long time since Qiao An had cuddled in his mom’s arms like this, being spoon-fed.

This kind of treatment was something only toddlers got, maybe around one or two years old.

After eating, he snuggled into Qiao Lu’s arms, humming and mumbling, clinging tightly to her neck. He stayed like that for a long time—so long his body went numb—but still refused to let go, like a little koala.

“Mommy’s so tired, An’an, go let Daddy hold you too.” She kissed his forehead, her eyes filled with tenderness. “Daddy has been searching for you day and night. He’s even more tired than Mommy. Go thank Daddy.”

Earlier, because she’d been so worried about their son, Qiao Lu hadn’t paid much attention to her husband. Now she finally noticed the deep dark circles under his eyes, the stubble that had grown unchecked.

She truly couldn’t imagine how he made it through these past twenty-some days—comforting her, encouraging her, searching for the child, organizing efforts… It was such a long stretch of time. What had he relied on to push through?

The more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt, and she pulled him into a tight embrace.

“Haizhou, thank you for everything.”

“Thank you, Daddy. Daddy, I want to hug you. Daddy, I love you. I super love you. Thank you for bringing me back.” If it weren’t for Daddy, he might never have seen Mommy again in his lifetime.

His wife’s embrace, his son’s heartfelt confession—it was enough to melt away all the days of pressure and sorrow.

It was all worth it. So worth it.

One hand holding Qiao An, the other cradling the back of his son’s head, pressing him to his chest—two hearts beating closely, tightly, together.

“Good boy, Daddy loves you too.”

Then the little guy raised his chubby meat pie: “Daddy, you eat too. Eat the meat pie. Mommy and I can’t finish it all.”

Xu Haizhou instinctively wanted to decline, but when he saw the anticipation in his son’s eyes, he couldn’t say no. He took a big bite.

His mouth opened a bit too wide, and he accidentally bit Qiao An’s little fingertip—ticklish and tingly, making the child burst into laughter.

At last, the heavy atmosphere lightened.

He fed Daddy a bite of meat pie, then fed Mommy some congee. The family of three had finally returned to their warm, happy routine.

After taking the sleeping pill, the child now wanted nothing less than to sleep. And having narrowly escaped danger, he had far too much energy to burn.

Qiao Lu and Xu Haizhou were the exact opposite. Now that their child was found, all they wanted to do was lie down and sleep properly.

Everything else could wait till after a nap.

The two adults each lay on a bed to rest, while the little one climbed from Qiao Lu to Xu Haizhou, needing hugs from both to feel satisfied.

“After they took you away, did they hit you? Did they yell at you?” Qiao Lu grabbed the squirmy Qiao An and asked.

The little guy thought for a moment, then dove into her arms: “Mommy, they were fake. They made me call them Mommy and Daddy. I wouldn’t, and they said I was being bad. They scared me and said they wouldn’t give me food.”

His tone was light, making it seem the experience hadn’t traumatized him as badly as Qiao Lu had feared.

“Did they give you food then?” Qiao Lu asked again, eyes closed, hugging him close.

Qiao An shook his head. One hand hugged her neck, the other played with her hair. He mumbled, “One day, I missed all three meals. No breakfast, no lunch, no dinner. I was so hungry. Then the fake mommy gave me a steamed bun. After that, they started being nice to me. They told me to forget Mommy, to forget Daddy.”

Most likely, that couple had tried using force at first. But when the boy didn’t respond to it, they had no choice but to try a gentler approach.

After all, children—especially one as young as Qiao An—could be won over easily. Be a little nice to them, and as they grow older, they’d gradually forget their birth parents. Who would worry about a bought child not becoming attached?

As if making a vow, Qiao An hugged his mother tightly and said each word clearly: “Mommy, I won’t forget you. I’ll never forget you.”

“I know my mommy is called Qiao Lu. My daddy is called Xu Haizhou. We live at No. 88 Ziyuan Street. I also have a second aunt. Her name is Qiao Yan. My second aunt has a baby too—his name is Zhiwei… Mommy, we haven’t seen baby Zhiwei in so long.”

To be honest, Qiao Lu and Xu Haizhou had both expected that even if they managed to find their child, he would probably show some trauma symptoms.

Like reverting to how he was in the countryside—timid and withdrawn, crying nonstop, hard to comfort, extremely insecure, unable to socialize normally…

But now, it seemed their little one’s ability to heal and adapt after the crisis far exceeded what they had imagined.

Qiao Lu couldn’t help but ask, gently stroking his little head: “An’an, do you know how long you’ve been away from us?”

Qiao An sniffled, tilted his head and thought for a few seconds: “Mommy, has it been twenty days?”

Qiao Lu was a little surprised. “Who told you that?”

“I counted myself.” He counted every day. Every night, he silently wondered in his heart—how many moons has it been?

One moon was one day. He had already seen twenty moons.

Qiao Lu kissed the tip of his nose. “To be precise, it’s been twenty-five days.”

“Mm. Mommy, I was gone for twenty-five days. I missed you so much. Mommy… I missed you.”

Qiao Lu kissed his little face again. “An’an, Mommy thought your emotions would collapse. But you’ve been so strong. Since we reunited, you haven’t even cried much.”

Xu Haizhou was also curious. He propped up his head, watching mother and son.

“Mommy, didn’t you say… if you and Daddy weren’t around, and An’an felt sad, An’an had to manage his own feelings? If I stayed sad all the time, it would hurt my body.”

Anger harms the body—that was something Mommy had taught him.

Qiao Lu and Xu Haizhou were both stunned—so An’an had really remembered every single word they had taught him.

This child was truly clever.

The hospital room fell silent for a brief moment. Then Xu Haizhou suddenly got up and squeezed onto the same bed with the mother and child.

It was a tight fit, but warm and cozy.

Sandwiched between his mom and dad, Qiao An felt an unprecedented sense of security.

He touched Qiao Lu’s face and mumbled, “Mom, the fake mom and dad wanted to take me to a really, really faraway place. You have to take a train to get there. I secretly thought that once I got a little older, I’d sneak out and come find you.”

Qiao Lu was surprised. “That’s what you thought?”

The little guy nodded. “Mm, I had to find you, Mommy.”

“But you didn’t have any money. It’s really far—you’d need to take transportation to get here.”

The little guy was troubled, scratched his head, and said with a stubborn look, “Doesn’t matter, I’d still come. I’d save money. I could also work out and get strong like Daddy. Then, when my legs get long like his, I could walk back on my own.”

His innocent words made Qiao Lu laugh. To raise such a clever child—his mom and dad felt both heartbroken and touched.

This child was truly a blessing, come to repay their kindness!

“An’an, remember this: no matter what, your safety is the most important. Whether you find us or not, you must stay safe, okay?” Qiao Lu said seriously.

“Mommy, then I’ll safely find you!”

Xu Haizhou added, “Always make sure you’re safe first. Everything else comes after. Life is more important than anything, understand?”

“Mm, Daddy, I understand!” the little guy nodded solemnly, extremely serious.

The couple smiled and each kissed one of his cheeks.

Qiao Lu said, “An’an, you don’t need to go to kindergarten anymore. Until first grade, we won’t go to school, okay?”

Qiao An had just gotten used to kindergarten, and had even started to feel that it wasn’t so bad. Now Mommy was telling him not to go anymore.

Although he liked being with Mommy more, it wasn’t like he didn’t want to go to kindergarten at all.

Over the past few months, he had made a few new friends. They weren’t super close, but it was fun spending time with other kids.

Still, Qiao An didn’t hesitate at all. He cupped Qiao Lu’s face, gave her a kiss, and promised, “Mommy, I won’t go to kindergarten. I want to stay with you forever.”

The younger the child, the stronger the bond with the mother. Qiao Lu’s anxiety was something even Qiao An could sense. He saw her fragility clearly—his emotional sensitivity was sharper than most adults’.

And so, Qiao An’s kindergarten life came to a full stop in the winter of his fifth year.

A short three months.

The fact that Qiao Lu’s child had been found no doubt gave the other five mothers a shot of hope.

Of the five missing children, all five families mobilized everyone to stake out train and bus stations.

A week later, good news came one after another!

Remember the mother who had tried to hang herself?

Maybe it was some mysterious mother-daughter connection—her little girl, still so young, had somehow climbed into a freight train and ended up in Lian. She asked a passerby for help and was successfully returned to her parents.

She was only three years old. Strictly speaking, she still had two months to go before turning four—but it was incredible nonetheless.

No one knew what happened along the way, how a three-year-old girl managed to stow away on a train and make it back home!

Maybe it really was a miracle. Maybe it was the power of a mother’s call that drew her back…

Either way, the news was worth celebrating.

The girl’s mother wept tears of joy—after so much sorrow, the joy nearly overwhelmed her. With the care of her husband and child, she slowly recovered emotionally and never again thought of suicide.

Three days later, another bit of good news: Feng Gui’s child was found at the bus station!

The maddening part—her child had also been drugged with sleeping pills and stuffed into a sack!

If the child hadn’t woken up mid-transit and started thrashing inside the sack, no one would have noticed!

Thankfully, the bus station supervisor reported it immediately, and the police called Feng Gui and her husband to come claim the child.

The couple kneeled right at the police station entrance, thanking the officers and thanking the heavens.

What unbelievable luck.

But Lady Luck doesn’t shine on everyone.

In the time that followed, no more good news came.

Qiao Lu’s store still displayed posters of the other three missing children year-round.

Two of the photos were cut out from family portraits; the third wasn’t even a real photo—just a hand-drawn picture. That family couldn’t afford to take a single photo of their child before he vanished…

The rope always snaps at its thinnest point, and misfortune always seeks out the suffering—some families rejoice, others grieve.

Qiao Lu had only just found her child and had no time to comfort others. No amount of time felt enough to spend cuddling her son.

The mother and child were inseparable. Wherever one went, the other followed. Even going to a public restroom meant Qiao Lu had to wait outside or send Xu Haizhou in with him.

Having not worked in over twenty days, Xu Haizhou didn’t immediately return to Baiyun Street after finding their son. He decided to extend his “vacation.”

At least stay home for a week with the child. Once the mother and son were emotionally settled, then they’d talk about work.

They decorated the unfinished new home together, strolled and shopped as a family, and bought new things for their house.

Later on, Xu Haizhou even took his wife and son on a train trip to the neighboring province to climb the most famous mountain—Mount Tai.

From Mount Tai, the world felt small. Heaven and earth stretched in every direction.

At the summit, all troubles drifted away with the white clouds.

“An’an, is Mount Tai tall?”

“Tall! So tall!” Peering down from the mountain, he couldn’t even see the bottom—just endless dark green and floating mists.

The little guy shrank his neck timidly and tugged at Xu Haizhou’s leg, tiptoeing. “Daddy, Daddy, hold me. Hold me, I’m a little scared.”

Xu Haizhou teased him, tickling his chin. “If I hold you, you’ll be even higher. Won’t that be scarier?”

Joking aside, he still picked the child up. “How is it? Can you see farther now?”

“Hmm… maybe, maybe not.” He had thought sitting in Daddy’s arms would let him touch the clouds. They seemed so close, yet when he got higher, the clouds rose too, always just out of reach.

So strange.

He reached for ages but never felt the soft touch of a cloud… only air.

“Daddy, can you pick a cloud for me?” After thinking for a while, he figured maybe his arms just weren’t long enough.

Pfft—

“Daddy’s not a god. Pick a cloud for you? Why don’t you ask me to get the moon while I’m at it?”

“The moon? That’s too far. Daddy can’t get that.” Qiao An was realistic about this much.

“You’re only five, and already so lacking in imagination,” Qiao Lu pinched his cheek. “If Daddy can pick clouds, why not the moon too?”

The little guy scratched his face. “Well… Daddy would have to be able to fly for that.”

Qiao Lu laughed with crescent eyes. “Let’s save up a bit more money. Daddy and Mommy will take you on a plane, and we’ll go to Hainan to see the super blue ocean. How about that?”

“Mommy, we have a sea here too.”

“It’s not the same. Our sea isn’t blue. We’ll take you to see a real blue ocean, okay?”

“Okay! I like the blue ocean!”