Chapter 232: Chapter 225: Investigation

These children have not only been hurt physically, but their hearts have also been injured. They were frightened, terrified by the ugliness of human nature at a very young age. The incident was a cruel but important life lesson for them.

“Uncle Tang, has Yuxin woken up?”

Xu Miaomiao stood outside the ward, cautiously asked. She hesitated, not daring to step in. She feared Tang Zhinian would berate her. After all, it was her incompetence that resulted in this predicament. She was the one who involved Yuxin. Thinking of Tang Yuxin’s cut by glass, she was filled with guilt. If she hadn’t taken Tang Yuxin’s shoes, Yuxin wouldn’t be injured.

The person injured now was Yuxin. If it weren’t for searching for her, how could Tang Yuxin be kidnapped? It was all her fault.

“If you made mistakes, admit them. It’s not shameful to acknowledge your mistakes.”

Xu Miaomiao’s father appeared beside her, “You owe Yuxin an apology and a thank you. You have to say these yourself, your father can’t do it for you. You’re growing up and need to take responsibility for your actions.”

“I understand,” Xu Miaomiao took a deep breath, then knocked on the door.

Tang Yuxin was sitting up now, though her feet still couldn’t move, she seemed in good spirits. There was nothing really wrong with her, but Tang Zhinian insisted she stay in the hospital for a few more days to recuperate.

He did not realize his daughter was a competent doctor. She knew very well whether she needed hospitalization, which she saw as unnecessary.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Tang Zhinian, peeling an apple for his daughter, put the half-peeled apple on the table and got up to open the door. It was Xu Miaomiao, head down, and her father.

“My Miaomiao wants to speak with Yuxin.”

Xu Miaomiao’s father was truly grateful to Tang Zhinian. This time, they were fortunate to have Tang Yuxin. Otherwise, who knew what would have happened to his daughter? He only had one daughter. If they lost her, how could their family carry on?

Xu Miaomiao fidgeted with her clothes, then walked in, head still lowered as if she was too ashamed to see anyone.

“What, a cat got your tongue?”

Tang Yuxin put down her book and crossed her arms.

Where had her previous courage gone? She used to be so tough. When did she turn into a timid doormat?

“Uh, Yuxin…”

Xu Miaomiao lifted her face and abruptly threw herself at Tang Yuxin, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Yuxin, it was all my fault. It’s all my fault. I got you involved. You even had to come to save me… and you gave me your shoes. Tell me, why I am so bad, why?”

Speaking, she wiped her tear-streaked face, smearing both tears and snot on Tang Yuxin’s clothes. Resisting the urge to push Miaomiao away, Tang Yuxin let her vent her grief and guilt, refraining from intervening.

But she wished Miaomiao wouldn’t smear her snot on her. That was quite disgusting.

Tang Yuxin moved her hand and placed it on Xu Miaomiao’s forehead.

“It’s all in the past, let’s not mention it. I accept your thanks and your apology. Neither of us wanted this to happen, but it did, and we have to face it. Luckily, we both made it back.”

Yes, thankfully, they made it back.

“Thank you,” Xu Miaomiao sniffed, unable to stop her tears of gratitude.

“Yuxin, rest assured. You saved me,” she wiped her eyes and continued between sobs, “From now on, consider me your real sister. I’ll treat your father as my own.”

“When Uncle Tang is no longer around, I’ll find the best crematorium for him, just like for my father. I’ll get him the most beautiful urn, and the best graveyard site. Every year, I’ll burn paper money for him…”

Tang Zhinian almost cut his finger with the knife while peeling the apple, and Xu Miaomiao’s father gaped. He didn’t know what to say to his daughter. She was actually planning his funeral and cremation? What kind of daughter did he have?

Tang Yuxin couldn’t help but touch her forehead, suppressing a sigh.

Kid, could you be any more naive?

Tang Yuxin looked out the window. Outside was a bright spring day. It seemed all gloominess had faded. Tomorrow, and the day after, promised to be beautiful days, right?

In the afternoon, police officers came over. They were here to investigate the kidnapping incident. The three kidnappers had been captured. One was nabbed red-handed. The three of them were asleep, one even stripped naked. When they brought him back to the station, the sight was indeed indecent.

“They said you broke the door?”

“Yes,” Tang Yuxin nodded, “I broke it.”

“Aren’t you afraid when you did?” The policeman asked Tang Yuxin again.

“More afraid not to,” Tang Yuxin shrunk her neck and made a frightened gesture, “Had we not, how would we escape? They wanted to sell us into remote mountains, confine us in a dark room without food or drink, and force us to continuously bear children.”

“Officer…” Tang Yuxin feigned innocence, “Can women bear children without eating or drinking?”

She played an naive teenage girl. Indeed, she looked like one, only 14 or 15 years old, but in fact, she was already 17.

She made the policeman blush. He really didn’t know how to explain the birds and the bees to an ignorant teenage girl, especially a smart one like Tang Yuxin.

“Ahem…” The policeman coughed. He felt as if Tang Yuxin was leading them into a trap.

“Weren’t you afraid they would wake up when you broke the door?”

“Not afraid,” Tang Yuxin shook her head, “I heard them snoring loudly.”

“So, you broke the door?”

“Yes,” Tang Yuxin nodded again. Keeping up her act, she wouldn’t tell them that she drugged the kidnappers. Less trouble that way, she could just chalk it up to her own good fortune.

The policemen couldn’t get more out of Tang Yuxin, who appeared perfectly ordinary. As a young teenager, she might have just thought of breaking the lock to escape. Those unfortunate thugs might have just been in deep sleep, allowing the children to escape. In the end, they even had the luck to run into Gu Ning and his police officers handling another case. They swiftly brought down the human trafficking ring, a criminal gang they had been tracking for years without success. The gang lived off of human trafficking, causing unknown harm to numerous children and bringing untold disaster on many families.