Chapter 18: Misunderstanding

“When Big Brother and Second Brother get back, we’ll see if they can reach Chen Liyang. If they can’t, we’ll have to go search for her ourselves. If all else fails, we call the police,” Zhou Chengxi said with a dark expression.

He knew Chen Liyang could never change. At first, he had thought the man was merely targeting the government subsidy, never imagining he intended to sell their little sister.

She was so young and couldn’t even speak yet. Normally, no one would want to buy a child like that.

Unless it was like the human traffickers their teacher had mentioned-monsters who abducted healthy children, broke their arms and legs alive, and dumped them in busy places to elicit sympathy from passersby for money.

He didn’t dare imagine what kind of torture his sister would suffer if she were truly bought by human traffickers.

Chen Liyang, I will never forgive you…

Zhou Chengxi clenched his fists tightly, his gaze dripping with venomous hatred.

Hearing Third Brother’s words, Zhou Chengbei squatted on the ground in self-reproach. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have gone to school. If I had stayed home, he wouldn’t have dared to sneak off and sell Little Sister.”

“You can’t blame yourself for this. Blame him for being a beast. Beating and abusing us wasn’t enough, and now he wants to sell a child! If he really sold Little Sister, I’ll fucking kill him…” Zhou Chengxi said through gritted teeth.

Actually, he had harbored this thought for a long time. It was only because Big Brother said ruining their lives over someone like that wasn’t worth it that he had held back.

But now he didn’t care anymore. He was still a child anyway. Even if he killed someone, he would only be sent to a juvenile detention center^[1] at most, not executed. Besides, scum like Chen Liyang deserved to die in the first place.

Hearing the word “kill,” Zhou Chengbei jumped up in fright. “Third Brother, you’re not joking, are you?”

Although he despised Chen Liyang, he had never thought about killing him.

Because if they failed, given Chen Liyang’s temperament, they would never live to see tomorrow’s sun.

Knowing his younger brother was timid, Zhou Chengxi quickly reined in his hostility and smiled. “I was just joking. How could I dare kill anyone?”

“Do you think… maybe he just took Little Sister out to play?” Zhou Chengbei’s eyes widened as if a thought had suddenly struck him.

“Chengbei, how can you be so naive? Don’t you know what kind of person he is?

Since Mom went abroad, has he ever taken us out to play even once?”

At the mention of their mother, Zhou Chengbei’s eyes dimmed. “It’s been three years. Ever since Mom went abroad, she hasn’t returned once. Does she really not want us anymore?”

In his memory, although Mom left early and returned late every day, spending very little time with them,

whenever she had free time, she would take them out to play. She was always smiling and would tell him that he was the most behaved of the four brothers, and that he was her favorite.

Yet the only mother who loved him in this world had vanished, replaced by a ruthless stepfather. Sometimes, thinking about it at night, he would secretly cry under his blanket.

“No, Mom wouldn’t abandon us. She must have something keeping her abroad. One day, she’ll come back,” Zhou Chengxi said with conviction.

In truth, the five siblings were not their mother’s biological children. Shortly after their little sister was born, their birth parents were murdered, leaving no intact remains.

Their current mother was their birth mother’s best friend. They had grown up together, closer than sisters.

After the children were born, she had officially taken them on as her godchildren.

To save them from a life of helplessness, she resolutely adopted them, registering them under her household register to make their mother-child relationship legal and official.

For this reason, she had even severed ties with her own family.

Because of this, countless people pointed fingers behind her back, cursing her as an ungrateful wretch.

Disowning her own parents just for a few kids who weren’t even related to her by blood.

Yet even under such immense psychological pressure, she had never considered sending them to an orphanage.

Instead, to take proper care of them and provide good living conditions, she worked frantically every day, often entertaining clients until one or two in the morning and returning home dead drunk.

How could such a good woman abandon them without a single word?

Her only mistake was being blind enough to choose Chen Liyang, a sanctimonious hypocrite, to be their stepfather.

But she was not to blame for that. The blame lay entirely on Chen Liyang for being too skilled at masquerading; he had fooled them all.

Just as the two brothers were at a complete loss, the eldest and second brothers returned.

Seeing one leaning against the doorframe and the other squatting on the ground, the two asked in confusion, “Why do you both look so grim? What happened?”

“Brothers, Little Sister is gone! We searched everywhere and couldn’t find her. We suspect he sold her!” Zhou Chengbei immediately stood up and sobbed.

“What?” Upon hearing this, Zhou Chengdong nearly fainted.

Zhou Chengnan yelled out in anxiety, “Then what are you standing around for? Why haven’t you gone out to look for her?!”

“The outside world is huge, where are we supposed to look? Big Brother, do you have his contact info?” Zhou Chengxi asked.

Whenever they filled out family forms at school, the father column was always left blank.

Zhou Chengdong shook his head. “He’s always changing his phone number. I don’t know his current number either.

Let’s head out and search first. Even if we can’t find her, we have to keep looking.”

“Search for what? Let’s just call the police! That scum is beyond saving. To think I actually thought his conscience had kicked in – I never expected him to still be this malicious,” Zhou Chengnan said, his face dark.

By now, the four brothers were entirely convinced that he had taken their little sister to sell her.

In the past, he had frequently berated their sister, calling her a money-losing money pit^[2] who only knew how to eat and couldn’t even speak a word, threatening that he would sell her off sooner or later.

They hadn’t expected him to actually dare to do it. Was he really that fearless of the law?

“Right, let me call the police directly. We’ll go to Aunt Zhao’s place next door right now to borrow her phone and make the call.” Zhou Chengdong also agreed that calling the police was the safest option.

With the police involved, they would definitely be able to reach Chen Liyang.

Just as the four brothers rushed out of the living room, preparing to head next door to Aunt Zhao’s house,

The scene before them left them all stunned. They stood frozen in place, utterly speechless.

“Why are you all standing there like statues? Hurry up and lead your little sister into the room!” Aunt Zhao said as she led Wanning into the courtyard.

Her voice snapped everyone back to their senses.

Seeing their lost sister returned to them, they rushed over to check Wanning from head to toe.

This action caused Aunt Zhao’s face to darken instantly. “What is wrong with you boys? Checking her over the moment you see her. Are you suspecting me of abusing your sister?”

Seeing that Aunt Zhao had misunderstood, Zhou Chengdong hurriedly explained, “Aunt Zhao, we know you’re a good person. We were just afraid she got beaten by him, not targeting you. By the way, we haven’t even thanked you yet for helping us find our sister!”

In their minds, Aunt Zhao must have seen Chen Liyang trying to sell the child and rescued their sister from his hands.