Chapter 99

Successfully bringing his beautiful, enchanting wife home, Shen Lihuan received a hot kiss from her as a reward before getting out of the car. She was in an excellent mood.

When Youyou got home and saw that his parents and both his uncle and aunt were in the living room, for the first time, he left his sister behind and ran straight into his mother’s arms. “Mommy, it was so scary!”

Gu Qinglan hugged her precious son, doting as she tapped his forehead. “What was so scary?”

Though only six years old, Youyou was highly intelligent, with impressive storytelling skills. He spoke clearly and logically, and quickly recounted everything that had just happened.

Upon learning that Lihuan had taken her little brother to the amusement park and ended up saving a young boy, Gu Qinglan and the others were very proud of her. At the same time, they became more alert—going forward, any child leaving the house must be accompanied by a bodyguard.

Shen Lihuan and You Changqing entered the living room and, upon hearing the adults discussing the matter, chimed in, “Rather than relying on bodyguards all the time, why not let Youyou and Guoguo learn martial arts? That way they’ll have the ability to protect themselves.”

Guoguo was Gu Tingyu and Guan Kening’s daughter, only four years old this year. She was unbelievably adorable and the apple of the entire family’s eye.

Hearing her sister mention her, Guoguo—who had been sleepily drooping her head in her father’s arms—looked up and reached out her tender little arms toward Shen Lihuan, drawing out her soft baby voice, “Sister, hug~”

Shen Lihuan responded with a delighted “Ai~” and walked over with a beaming smile to carefully pick her up. Little kids ran warm like tiny furnaces, making it super comfy to hold them in your arms.

Guoguo stared in fascination at her sister’s flawless face. Her little hand couldn’t resist reaching out to gently touch her sister’s cheek. Shen Lihuan glanced down at her, and the girl bashfully pulled her hand back. Her long lashes trembled, radiating youthful innocence.

Shen Lihuan knew her little sister was all about appearances—whoever looked good, she liked. At such a young age, she was already a full-on face-con.

She chuckled softly and took Guoguo’s hand, asking warmly, “Guoguo, do you want to learn martial arts?”

Seeing that her sister wasn’t mad about being touched, Guoguo grinned wide, revealing a row of tiny rice teeth. “Guoguo wants to learn martial arts—to beat the bad guys!”

With his little sister so enthusiastic, Youyou’s own heroic spirit was stirred. He raised his small fist and declared, “I want to learn martial arts too! Just like Sister—to beat bad guys, and protect Mommy, Sister, Sister Changqing, and my little sister and Auntie!”

Although You Changqing was already Youyou’s sister-in-law, he still habitually called her “Sister Changqing.” The family never forced him to change how he addressed her—whether he called her sister-in-law or sister, it didn’t affect their bond.

Guan Kening laughed right away—what a good little guy! Already knows to protect the women in his family. All their love for him wasn’t in vain.

Shen Jiashu lifted his eyelids and gave his son, who was full of fighting spirit, a glance. That chubby little face was filled with seriousness, and those big round eyes sparkled like stars in the sky.

Shen Lihuan figured it was best not to deflate her son’s confidence, so she nodded and said, with zero sincerity, “You’ve got this, son.”

Youyou didn’t catch the perfunctory tone at all. He nodded so hard with excitement he nearly twisted his neck.

Six was the perfect age to start learning martial arts, but Guoguo was only four—way too young. No one could bear to send such a soft little darling into training yet. So, they decided she’d start when she turned six. For now, only Youyou would begin lessons.

The next morning, Gong Chenxing’s family showed up carrying bags of gifts. The little boy’s cheeks were flushed bright red. The moment he saw Shen Lihuan and Youyou, he wanted to run over, but good upbringing kept him in check. Still, his big eyes kept darting toward the two of them.

Gong Chenxing’s father was named Gong Yanshi, and his mother, Fang Li. The couple once again expressed their heartfelt gratitude to Shen Lihuan, and it was a few minutes before everyone finally settled on the couch.

Chenxing had already made his way over to Youyou and sat down beside him. After being rescued by Shen Lihuan and Youyou yesterday, his affection for the two had skyrocketed. Outside of his own family, they were now his absolute favorites.

As soon as Gong Yanshi sat down, he sighed with guilt, “What happened yesterday was our failure as parents. We never should have let the nanny take Chenxing out.”

That woman in the grey clothes from yesterday, Zhou Fang, was actually their nanny—more specifically, the one hired to care for Gong Chenxing.

Both Gong Yanshi and Fang Li had busy jobs and little time to spend with their son, so they’d hired a well-paid nanny to keep him company—Zhou Fang.

Their housekeeping agency had recommended several top candidates. After interviewing and observing them, the couple felt Zhou Fang was the best choice. She had a mild temperament, her education was average but she spoke well, kept things clean, and Chenxing seemed to like her—so the family decided to keep her on.

Zhou Fang had been working with them for six months. The couple regularly checked in with her about their son’s wellbeing. She always acted modestly and looked like a very honest person. They also asked Chenxing privately if “Aunt Zhou” had ever yelled at or hit him—he always said no, that she was great.

The house was equipped with surveillance, though they hadn’t told Zhou Fang. Only under such unguarded circumstances would someone’s true nature show. But after monitoring her for six months, they hadn’t seen anything wrong. Slowly, the couple began to trust her.

Yesterday, Chenxing had begged to go out and play. The couple had already gone to work, and Zhou Fang took him out without informing them. Even the house staff assumed she had just taken the child for a quick walk. No one expected things would go wrong.

When Gong Yanshi spoke of this, both parents were filled with anger. What had their family ever done to wrong Zhou Fang? Not only did she get high pay and great benefits, they even gave her big red envelopes for every holiday. How could she be so heartless—to kidnap their child?

Fortunately, their son had been lucky. He was seen just in time by the young miss and young master of the Shen family—otherwise, if he had fallen into the hands of human traffickers, there was no need to even imagine what kind of fate would await him.

Yesterday, the couple had been at the Public Security Bureau. No matter how the police interrogated Zhou Fang, she refused to say a word. At this point, they had no way of knowing whether Zhou Fang still had accomplices. They only hoped Zhou Fang and the other traffickers would be sentenced to death as soon as possible. That was the only way to ease the hatred burning in their hearts.

Gong Chenxing lowered his head in shame. “I’m sorry, Dad, Mom. I shouldn’t have thrown a tantrum about going out to play.”

It was because he had insisted on going to the amusement park that Zhou Fang found an opportunity to strike. If he had just stayed home obediently, Zhou Fang wouldn’t have dared lay a finger on him.

Thinking about what had happened yesterday still filled Gong Chenxing with lingering fear. He had almost never gotten to see his parents again. Were adults really so awful? Zhou Fang used to seem so gentle—but it was all fake.

He was beginning to understand the lesson his teacher always repeated: never judge a person by their appearance. The teacher said not to assume someone was bad just because they looked fierce, and not to assume someone was good just because they looked kind. A bad person wouldn’t have the word “bad” written on their face. They could disguise themselves as kind people to trick others—and Zhou Fang was exactly that kind of person.

At that thought, Gong Chenxing hugged Youyou tightly. Adults were too scary. Kids were better. From now on, he would be best friends with Youyou.

“As parents, we’re at fault too. Only when our child is right before our eyes can we feel at ease. We’ll make more time to be with you in the future. We won’t hire a nanny again.”

Gong Yanshi waved his hand tiredly. Once bitten, twice shy—after something like this, how could he ever trust a nanny again?

“We were just planning to enroll Youyou in martial arts classes. Why don’t you also sign Chenxing up? The more skills a kid learns, the better they can protect themselves.”

Gu Qinglan, being a parent herself, naturally understood how Gong Yanshi and his wife felt. She had met Chenxing a few times—he was a good kid, and he’d been classmates with Youyou for a while now. Letting them learn together as companions seemed like a great idea.

“That’s a good idea. I support my son learning martial arts.”

As long as he had the skills, not only would he avoid being bullied—he wouldn’t be the one bullying others either. Fang Li was the first to voice her support.

Gong Yanshi nodded in agreement with a smile.

After discussing and finalizing the matter of the two children learning martial arts, the Gong couple said their goodbyes and took their reluctant son Chenxing home.

Because of the human trafficking incident, Shen Lihuan now had a heightened sense of crisis. What exactly was that black substance that had appeared in Gong Chenxing’s body yesterday? Why did ingesting it seem to turn a person into an imbecile? More importantly, if this drug began circulating on the market, countless people would be harmed.

For the safety of her own family—and the safety of the people—she had to develop a vaccine that could detoxify the drug. No matter what kind of drug someone was exposed to, once they had been vaccinated, the drug would no longer have any effect on the body.

But she had promised Changqing that she would pick her up and drop her off from work. Now that she had to break that promise, how could she bring herself to say it?

Changqing immediately noticed her inner turmoil that evening. When they were back in their room, she asked if something was bothering her.

Shen Lihuan hadn’t expected Changqing to be so perceptive. She wrapped her arms around her slim waist from behind and rested her cheek against her back. “Changqing, I’m about to become a promise-breaking villain.”

After she shared her worries, Shen Lihuan felt a little better.

So this was what Lihuan had been fretting over. Changqing smiled gently, turned around, and cupped Shen Lihuan’s face in her hands. “You’re doing something so meaningful. How could I be upset with you? I can drive myself to work. Why can’t I go alone? Don’t worry about me—just focus on your mission.”

“I’m sorry, Changqing. I broke my word.”

Shen Lihuan took her fair hand and gently kissed it at her lips, her peach blossom eyes filled with soft affection.

Changqing shook her head. “This isn’t your fault. I understand—you don’t need to worry.”

“I won’t be back at noon, but I will be home tonight. I won’t let you sleep alone.”

Shen Lihuan rubbed her cheek affectionately, then lowered her lips to kiss her cotton-candy-soft lips. Changqing wrapped her arms around her neck in response, lips parting naturally as Shen Lihuan’s tongue slipped in, entwining with hers in a tender dance. Shen Lihuan loosened her hair, and the two of them fell onto the bed, their embrace blooming into something sweet and enchanting.

The next day, Shen Lihuan informed her family of the situation—she would now be stationed at the research institute. If anything happened at home, they could just call her, and she’d rush back immediately.

Gu Qinglan and Shen Jiashu told her not to worry. There would be no problems at home. They wanted her to focus on developing the vaccine.

Even little Youyou was very mature about it, telling her to go without worries—he would try his best not to miss his big sister too much.

Seeing him on the verge of tears but still acting brave, Shen Lihuan’s heart melted. She crouched down and hugged him, planting a kiss on his chubby cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll still come home at night. How about we play racing games together then?”

“Okay, Sis.”

Youyou blinked back his tears. His sister had said real men don’t cry easily, so he had to be a strong man. He wouldn’t cry.

“Good boy.”

Shen Lihuan patted his little head, said goodbye to her family, and got into the car bound for the research institute.

With tears brimming in his eyes, Youyou watched the car disappear from view. After a long while, he let out a sigh and walked back into the house.

Gu Qinglan and Shen Jiashu exchanged a helpless smile. Every time their daughter left, their son would act like this. Anyone who didn’t know better might think the two siblings were being separated for years.

But the fact that the siblings were so close made them, as parents, genuinely happy.

While Shen Lihuan was sweating away in the research institute, the news of Zhou Fang’s human trafficking case was also being reported on the national news broadcast.