Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
There were many children and volunteers as well. To Liu Xiao Tian and the rest, it was a lot of pressure. In order to ensure that not a single case went wrong, they did strict inspections of each child’s parents. Their birth certificates, IDs, and other documents had to go through the database once.
Although they had already communicated with the parents, it was now time for the handing over of the children. As policemen, they couldn’t be careless.
The parents had all arrived. The leaders stepped on stage to speak. The topic of their speech was slightly obscure but it was mainly to remind the parents to accept the situation before their eyes. Some of the parents were very emotional and didn’t think much of what was said but the policemen, on the other hand, were very anxious.
Because in there, there were many cases that might not turn out ideally.
After the conference ended, it was time for the claiming of the children. Some of the parents were close to tears from the anticipation. Their pain from losing their children was something no one else would ever understand. When they received the calls from the police, they had thought it was a scam. Eventually, under the police’s confirmation and guarantee, they believed it and came over the next day in order to take back their children.
They had been waiting for too long, so long that they had started to get numb.
Liu Xiao Tian came forward. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Fortunately, the government built a new Children’s Welfare Institute a while ago. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know how to make arrangements for all these children.”
Lin Fan nodded. “You’ve worked hard.”
Liu Xiao Tian shrugged. “When I’m wearing this uniform, there’s no such thing as working hard. It’s all part of my duty.”
Lin Fan patten Liu Xiao Tian on the shoulder, then in a slightly surprised tone, he said, “You got promoted…”
Liu Xiao Tian didn’t think much of it, “With the leaders’ trust in giving me this post, the burden on me has only gotten heavier. I have to give 120% effort from now on.”
Lin Fan laughed. Just as he was about to say something, a loud noise came from in front.
“What’s going on?”
Liu Xiao Tian was uncertain. “I don’t know, let’s go take a look.”
Wu You Lan, who stood by the side, watched as those families found their children. Their sobbing faces as they hugged their children made Wu You Lan’s eyes turned slightly red as well. This scene was really emotional. But at that moment, a noise came from in front. She didn’t know what was going on.
When they reached there, there was a middle-aged lady pushing a member of staff away as she said, “This isn’t the child that I lost. She’s not…”
The staff member stepped forward once again, “Big sister, this is really your child. We have already done investigations. You came to the police station to report that you lost your child before too.”
Liu Xiao Tian came forward with a stern look on his face. “What’s going on?”
When the staff member saw that a superior had come, he said, “Inspector Liu, this lady says that this isn’t her child but we have already done thorough checks. This child is the child she lost four years ago.”
Liu Xiao Tian glanced at that child just sitting idly on the wheelchair. In the child’s lifeless eyes, a slight gleam of hopefulness shone for a moment, then died down again. Liu Xiao Tian sighed in his heart. “My dear big sister, do you not want to claim her?”
This child was crippled on both legs and could only sit on the wheelchair for the rest of her life. Getting prosthetic limbs was not impossible but it was an expensive investment. This child had gotten kidnapped when she had been one and now she was five. She lacked spirit as compared to typical children. She had also suffered a huge blow to her heart. When the lady saw her like this, she probably didn’t want to claim her.
Even if she brought her back, she would only be a liability.
That was what Liu Xiao Tian thought.
The middle-aged lady was evading any eye contact. She waved her hand, “It’s not that I don’t want to claim her but this really isn’t my child.”
When she received the call from the police, she had been extremely emotional. Her daughter had been kidnapped for four years and she had never thought she would find her again. When she lost her child, she and her husband had been heartbroken for a year but because they were still young, they had another child and it was a boy. Since a new life had entered, their grief and suffering started to disperse.
Every now and then, she did think that she might find her daughter back but now that it really happened, she didn’t dare to claim her daughter.
Before this, she had followed the staff member’s directions to find her long-lost child. She had been overcome with joy at first. When she saw that her daughter had lost both legs and was so skinny that her skin wrapped around her bones, she wanted to embrace her. However, her legs felt heavy as if they were filled with lead. Eventually, she slowly stepped back and gave a call to her husband and told him about the situation.
There was silence on the call. It was only five minutes later that her husband spoke, “Maybe that’s the wrong child.” Then, he hung up.
She had imagined the scene of herself reuniting with her daughter countless times but she had never thought it would be like this. She had thought that when she saw her daughter, no matter how her daughter looked, she would still accept her naturally and love her even more. However, when faced with the reality, she hesitated. A lifetime was a very long time, she didn’t dare to…
Wu You Lan saw the scene in front of her, then she looked up at Master Lin. “Is that her child?”
Lin Fan didn’t reply. In this situation, he was powerless. He could see that that child was that lady’s child. However, this child being crippled on both legs was possibly something that her parents couldn’t even dare to imagine. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to claim her daughter, but she didn’t dare to.
The little girl sitting on the wheelchair looked at the lady, then, with a voice like a mosquito, she squeaked, “Mama…”
The lady’s heart was struck. She stepped backward and waved her hand. “I’m not your mama, I’m not…”
The lady ran away embarrassedly, ignoring the shouts of the staff member. She didn’t want to stop. Nobody knew, but her eyes had already turned red and puffy long ago.
When Liu Xiao Tian saw this, he raised his hand, wanting to do something but then he helplessly put his hand down again.
This was what he had been most afraid of.
He didn’t know what he was supposed to say. If it had been him in that lady’s position, he didn’t know what he would’ve done.
A look of fury appeared on Liu Xiao Tian’s face “How can those human traffickers be so cruel?”
Lin Fan patted Liu Xiao Tian on his shoulder. “What’s going to happen of this?”
Liu Xiao Tian rubbed the corner of his eyes, “I don’t know. We’ll keep looking into it. Maybe she’ll be claimed eventually. However, even if she goes back to her family, it might not be pleasant. Perhaps it would be a better option to send her to the Children’s Welfare Institute.”
Lin Fan lowered his head and looked at the child sitting in the wheelchair. She had her head down. She looked at a loss. Her frail hands grabbed onto her clothes as if she was well aware of what was going on.
Meanwhile, when the other parents saw their physically sound children, they embraced them. When some of the parents saw their disabled children, even though their hearts were filled with grief, they wept as they hugged their children.
However, to the rest of the severely disabled children, this scene was very disturbing.
It wasn’t just that lady from before who ran off frantically. Many other parents, when they saw their children’s poor state, felt their hearts knot up and didn’t know what to do. If they claimed their children, they would have to spend the rest of their lives sticking right by their children’s sides, taking care of them. If they didn’t claim their children, they wouldn’t be able to have a clear conscience but even so, it would only be a temporary suffering.
“Really, d*mn it…” cursed Lin Fan.
Wu You Lan wiped the corners of her eyes. Girls’ emotions were easily moved. She said, “Why must it be so cruel?”
Lin Fan sighed, then looked at Liu Xiao Tian. “I’m going to make a move first. I don’t feel too good.”
Liu Xiao Tian nodded. They had to take responsibility for this to the very end.