The first date Lin Ran had envisioned ended in failure.
For the next half month, Lin Ran couldn’t find another chance to take Sheng Qingxi out alone. Song Shiman, having returned from her graduation trip, had become an inseparable shadow to Sheng Qingxi.
Every time Lin Ran went to the orphanage, Song Shiman was always there.
Song Shiman was like a firecracker—nonstop, she would badmouth him in front of Sheng Qingxi every chance she got.
There was no way Lin Ran would ever yield to someone like Song Shiman. The more she tried to keep him away, the more determined he was to go. Even on rainy days, he dragged himself out of bed, not giving her the opportunity to run her mouth off in front of Sheng Qingxi.
Summer rains came and went quickly.
By the time Lin Ran arrived at the orphanage with his umbrella, the rain had already stopped.
The children were inside the school building because of the rain, so the courtyard was quiet. Lin Ran headed straight to the back courtyard of the dormitory to find Sheng Qingxi. She was usually there doing homework or tending to the flowerbeds.
And Song Shiman was always by her side, chattering away.
But today, as soon as Lin Ran stepped into the courtyard, he sensed something was off.
Sheng Qingxi was sitting next to Song Shiman, speaking in a low voice, while the little firecracker was actually crying.
Lin Ran found it rather surprising. He walked over to the two girls and glanced at Song Shiman, who was sobbing uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down her face, with no trace of her usual prim and proper demeanor.
Lin Ran: “……”
He held his patience and listened for a bit, only to discover that Song Shiman was crying because Dudu had been adopted by someone else.
Seeing Song Shiman cry so much, Lin Ran couldn’t help but ask, “Did it never occur to you to adopt Dudu yourself? She seemed to really like you. Your parents seem like nice people—they would probably have agreed to take in another child.”
Song Shiman’s sobbing halted abruptly. She sat there dumbfounded for a moment before finally processing Lin Ran’s words.
A moment later, she burst into even louder sobs. “Waaah, Xiao Xi, I’m such an idiot! Why didn’t I think of that? I should have asked Dudu! I wonder how she’s doing now, waaah!”
Lin Ran: “?”
Sheng Qingxi glanced up at Lin Ran.
Lin Ran wisely stayed quiet, obediently sitting to the side, watching his little Xiao Xi.
Through her sniffles, Song Shiman asked, “Xiao Xi, do you think Dudu is happy? I’ve seen her a few times with those people, and she never smiles. I feel like she’s not happy, waaah.”
Sheng Qingxi pressed her lips together and didn’t immediately respond.
In her previous life, Dudu hadn’t been adopted at this point in time. Many small details had changed in this life.
“Then how about we go see Dudu this weekend?” Sheng Qingxi asked softly, holding Song Shiman’s hand.
Tears still in her eyes, Song Shiman nodded.
The scene soon turned into Song Shiman clinging to Sheng Qingxi, playfully seeking comfort while being coddled. Lin Ran stood nearby, grinding his teeth in frustration, glaring at Song Shiman’s arm wrapped around Sheng Qingxi’s waist, wishing he could burn a hole through it with his gaze.
Lin Ran did a quick mental calculation. Sheng Qingxi was tutoring Lin Yanyan on Sunday, so the only time they could visit Dudu would be Saturday.
He cleared his throat, “I’ll go with you. Just in case anything happens.”
Surprisingly, Song Shiman, who usually had a sharp tongue for Lin Ran, didn’t refuse his offer this time. She figured if she lost control and tried to snatch Dudu back, at least Lin Ran could take the hit for her.
…
On Friday night, Sheng Qingxi received a call from Sheng Lan.
Lin Ran was out handling something that evening, leaving just her and Lin Yanyan at home.
Before leaving, Lin Ran had even locked the kitchen to prevent the two girls from causing any chaos while he was gone.
When the phone rang, Lin Yanyan was working on a practice test. Sheng Qingxi stepped away to answer it. Before she could say a word, Sheng Lan’s anxious voice burst through the line: “Xiao Xi, Dudu is missing!”
Sheng Qingxi froze. “Missing? Have you called the police?”
Sheng Lan didn’t go into detail over the phone, only briefly explaining that both Dudu’s adoptive parents and Sheng Lan were out looking for her, and the police had already taken the case.
After hanging up, Sheng Qingxi chose not to tell Lin Yanyan about Dudu’s disappearance, not wanting to scare the child.
She gently patted Lin Yanyan’s head and said in a soft voice, “Yanyan, something urgent came up, so I can’t continue the lesson. After I leave, make sure to lock the door and call your brother, okay?”
Lin Yanyan blinked and obediently replied, “Sister, I think you should call my brother first.”
Lin Ran would definitely be upset if he came back and couldn’t find Sheng Qingxi.
Sheng Qingxi sighed, “If I call him, he’ll rush back here. Just tell him I went back to Shengkai for something urgent. I’ll send him a message once I get there.”
Lin Yanyan nodded, “Got it, Sister.”
It was already 8:30 p.m.
For the past few days, Chucheng had been experiencing constant rain, and the air was thick with sticky humidity. Even the night breeze carried warmth, and the sounds of insects chirping mixed with the rustle of dense foliage.
Instead of heading back to the orphanage, Sheng Qingxi took a cab directly to the police station.
Dudu had gone missing around 7 p.m.
After dinner, the couple had taken Dudu out for a walk. Dudu had been reluctant to go outside for some time, likely due to not being fully accustomed to her new environment, so they had stayed home with her. But today, when Dudu had expressed a desire to go out, they were overjoyed.
The children’s play area in the community was crowded, as it was the evening cooldown time after dinner.
At first, they had stayed close to Dudu, but seeing her play happily with the other children, they found a place to sit and chat with some of the other parents.
It was during this brief moment that Dudu disappeared.
The couple’s first instinct was to check the community’s security footage, but it turned out that there had been a power outage in the neighborhood at the time.
After calling the police, they had immediately contacted Sheng Lan.
When Sheng Qingxi arrived at the police station, she immediately explained her identity and the reason for her visit. The police were still reviewing surveillance footage from the streets around the neighborhood.
Only one of the adoptive parents stayed at the station—the woman—while her husband and Sheng Lan returned to the neighborhood to search, just in case Dudu had gotten lost and found her way back home. Someone had to stay behind in case Dudu returned.
The woman stood anxiously by the screen, watching the footage.
Sheng Qingxi didn’t rush to check the surveillance tapes. Instead, she asked the woman a few questions: “Has Dudu been acting strange recently? Does she ask to watch cartoons after dinner? How has she been sleeping at night?”
Despite her panic, the woman’s rationality held firm. Her face pale, she took a moment to recall, “Dudu has been the same as before. She’s always so quiet and well-behaved. The babysitter said that after lunch, Dudu took her nap without fuss. She doesn’t watch cartoons—these past few days, she’s been watching the news with us. I checked on her many times at night, and she slept well, didn’t kick off her blanket.”
Sheng Qingxi’s heart sank.
Something was very wrong with Dudu.
At the orphanage, Dudu’s favorite thing was watching cartoons. Being the youngest, everyone spoiled her, and although she was usually well-behaved, she would occasionally throw a little tantrum. And at night, Dudu always kicked her blankets off—Sheng Lan would get up at least three times each night to cover her back up.
This meant that Dudu probably hadn’t been sleeping at all in her new home.
After exchanging a few more quiet words with the woman, Sheng Qingxi left the police station.
She had a gut feeling that Dudu had left the neighborhood on her own.
But where would Dudu go?
The orphanage always had someone waiting, and Dudu hadn’t returned there.
Suddenly, Sheng Qingxi remembered the week after Song Shiman had returned from her graduation trip. She had taken Dudu to an amusement park, and Dudu had been so happy that day.
Ever since Dudu learned she was being adopted, she had rarely smiled like that.
Thinking it over, Sheng Qingxi decided to take a cab to the amusement park.
On the way, Lin Ran called her. Sheng Qingxi initially didn’t want to tell him about the situation, but after a moment’s thought, she realized he would find out in a couple of days anyway. She explained everything to him.
Lin Ran asked for the address of the amusement park, then hung up the phone.
—
The amusement park in Chucheng was located in the southern part of the city. Lin Ran arrived there faster than Sheng Qingxi.
The park’s colorful, glass-like lights faintly spilled onto the dim street outside, while cheerful carousel music filled the air around the lively park.
Lin Ran didn’t go inside. Instead, he drove around the perimeter of the amusement park.
It wasn’t until he reached the north gate, near a bus stop, that he finally let out a sigh of relief. The bus stop looked a little lonely in the night, with soft lights glowing on the signpost. And beneath it, crouched a small, cat-like figure.
He had found Dudu.
Lin Ran parked the car and, as he walked toward her, sent Sheng Qingxi a message.
Under normal circumstances, Lin Ran would have picked up the little girl and scolded her, but given the situation, that didn’t seem appropriate. So he patiently crouched down, gently patted Dudu’s head, and softly called, “Dudu.”
It took a moment for Dudu to react. When she finally looked up at him, her big, watery eyes were slightly red.
In a small voice, she called out, “Brother Xiao Huo.”
Sheng Lan often called Lin Ran “Xiao Huo,” and the children had followed suit, calling him Brother Xiao Huo.
Lin Ran didn’t say much else and simply replied, “Let’s go find Sister Song.”
Dudu was a bit dazed at first, but once she realized what was happening, she didn’t say a word. Instead, she nodded, eyes still red from crying.
Lin Ran gently picked her up and softly reassured her, “Let’s wait for your Sister Sheng. She’s been looking for you. She’ll be here soon, and then we’ll go find Sister Song together, okay?”
Dudu wrapped her arms around Lin Ran’s neck, sniffling as she quietly apologized, “Brother, I’m sorry.”
Lin Ran knew that these kids were all very smart.
They were aware of what they were doing. Dudu didn’t want to stay with her adoptive parents, but she didn’t want to trouble Sheng Lan either. She had likely been trying her best to adjust, but today her emotions must have overwhelmed her, causing her to run off on her own.
Ten minutes later, Sheng Qingxi arrived at the amusement park.
The moment Dudu saw Sheng Qingxi, she couldn’t hold back any longer. She ran into Sheng Qingxi’s arms, crying, “Sister, I miss you and Auntie Sheng, and Sister Song. I miss them so much. Dudu wants to go home.”
Heart aching, Sheng Qingxi gently took Dudu from Lin Ran’s arms.
In her previous life, this had never happened to Dudu. Sheng Qingxi couldn’t tell if things had changed in this life or if Dudu had silently endured her unhappiness back then.
Lin Ran stood there, a little lost in thought as he watched the scene unfold.
Sheng Qingxi lowered her head slightly, looking at the crying child in her arms, her expression soft and filled with patience as she comforted Dudu. Her gentle words of reassurance echoed in Lin Ran’s heart.
For a brief, inappropriate moment, Lin Ran thought, ‘It would be nice if Sheng Qingxi and I had a child.’
If it were a daughter, he would spoil her endlessly.
If it were a son, well…he couldn’t possibly have a son.
“Lin Ran, Lin Ran.”
Sheng Qingxi’s voice pulled him out of his tangled thoughts.
The beautiful girl in front of him tilted her head, looking at him curiously. “What are you thinking about?”
Even Dudu, still wiping her tears, was staring at him.
Lin Ran: “……”
There was no way he could say, ‘I was thinking about when we could have a child together.’