Volume One, Chapter Five: Woman, Come to Me

"Are you called Sui Sui? Why did you draw on my car? Who was the person with you just now?"

Sui Sui crossed her arms, tilted her head, and pouted her small lips. "I won't tell you my name is Sui Sui. I did it all by myself; there was no one else."

She was quite loyal, and a little silly, too.

"Since you won't reveal your accomplice, then tell me who your mother is."

"I won't tell you."

"Then I have no choice but to take you back with me."

Upon hearing she was going to be taken, Sui Sui's large eyes fluttered, as if she were about to burst into tears at any second.

Lu Junshen set her down on the ground.

Sui Sui wiped away her tears and, without a moment's hesitation, turned around, striving to move her little legs and swinging her small arms.

She muttered to herself as she ran, "Run fast, run fast, Sui Sui run fast..."

Lu Junshen raised an eyebrow, watching the little dumpling, but didn't catch her immediately.

It wasn't until Sui Sui thought she had successfully escaped that he took two steps forward and scooped her up again.

Suspended in the air, Sui Sui kicked her little legs in vain, realizing it was all for naught.

"Keep running."

Sui Sui tucked her small hands in and hung her head in a huff, looking like an angry little pufferfish.

Lu Junshen curled his lips, finding the little girl unexpectedly cute. He carried her back to the car and looked at those ugly words once more: "Tell me, why did you write these words?"

*Abandoning wife and children.*

That wasn't something a child her age should understand.

Sui Sui kept her mouth shut, refusing to say a single word.

"Junshen, what's going on with this child?" Xu Ruoqing frowned.

"She admitted she did it, but refuses to say anything else. Jiang Ze, call the police."

"Yes. And, sir, what about this child?"

Lu Junshen scanned the surroundings; there was no one in sight. The child looked to be about four or five years old; he couldn't just leave her here alone.

Lu Junshen opened the car door and placed the little girl inside. "Wait until the police contact her parents to come and pick her up."

Sui Sui felt as if the sky had collapsed.

Mommy was right after all; Daddy would take Sui Sui away.

Sui Sui wouldn't be able to see Mommy anymore.

Sad tears began to fall, plop, plop, down her cheeks.

As soon as Lu Junshen sat in the car, he noticed that the little girl, who had just been so courageous and taken all the blame upon herself, was now crying.

He wasn't good at dealing with children, and he hated it when they cried in front of him. Yet, looking at the pitiful little face before him, his hardened heart softened for a moment.

"What are you crying for? I didn't hit you."

Sui Sui used her chubby hands to wipe her tears. "Sui Sui has been caught by a bad guy. Sui Sui will never see Mommy again. Sui Sui... Sui Sui..."

She was truly heartbroken.

The little girl cried so hard she couldn't speak.

Lu Junshen watched her quietly for a while before saying, "Once your mother contacts me, I will let you go back."

"Really?" Sui Sui stopped crying in an instant, looking at him with bright, watery eyes.

Lu Junshen began to suspect that the girl had been faking it.

"Yes. But you have to tell me why you drew on my car."

Sui Sui pressed her lips together and looked at Lu Junshen with big eyes, wearing an expression that said, *You won't get a single word out of me.*

Even though Lu Junshen was usually all-powerful in the business world, he was currently helpless against a little girl who loved to cry.

***

Watching Sui Sui being taken away, the two little ones who had run off first panicked.

Xia Jinchen wanted to run out to save Sui Sui, but Xia Shunnian blocked him. Xia Shunnian said calmly, "We look a bit like the bad daddy; going out there won't save Sui Sui, and it will only cause trouble for Mommy."

"Then what about Sui Sui?"

"Find Mommy first."

Xia Jinchen felt a chill run through him. He tightened his glutes and covered his bottom with both hands; he felt like his rear end was about to be beaten to a pulp.

A phone rang; it was Xia Nanzhi.

Xia Nanzhi couldn't find the three of them and was nearly going crazy with worry.

"It's over, it's over, it's Mommy's call." Xia Jinchen scratched his head in a flurry.

"Answer it." Xia Shunnian had already picked up.

Xia Nanzhi's voice came through. "Niannian, Chenchen, where are you? Where is your sister? Is she with you?"

"Sui Sui... Sui Sui..." Chenchen was so anxious he couldn't speak.

"Mommy, Sui Sui was taken away by Lu Junshen..." Niannian explained the situation to Xia Nanzhi without losing his composure.

After hearing this, Xia Nanzhi doubted if there was something wrong with her ears.

She remained silent for a full ten seconds before it finally registered.

The sky had fallen.

"You... this... Sui Sui... I..." Xia Nanzhi was too flustered to find words. Finally, she could only ask, "Did he recognize you?"

Niannian: "No."

That was a relief.

The sky had only fallen a little bit.

Xia Nanzhi took a deep breath, struggling to remain calm. "Come back first. Mommy will think of a way."

"Okay."

Just as she hung up the phone, Xia Nanzhi received a call from an unknown number.

She had a bad premonition.

Her hand trembled slightly as she answered.

The man's deep, cold voice came from the other end: "Are you the child's mother?"

"I am."

"Your daughter is with me."

Xia Nanzhi instantly recognized Lu Junshen's voice and felt her heart turn cold. "What do you want?"

"Di Hai Hotel. Come and pick her up."

Xia Nanzhi heard Sui Sui's crying in the background and panicked. "I understand the situation. Let's talk this out properly. I will pay for any damages, just please don't hurt my child."

Lu Junshen furrowed his brow.

The woman's voice made him feel as though he had heard it somewhere before.

Just as he was thinking, the little girl beside him cried even louder. The little girl was full of emotion; she would cry for a while, stop, and then, as if remembering something sad, start crying again.

Lu Junshen massaged his temples. "I have no interest in hurting a child, but you need to come and explain this clearly."

He didn't believe a small child would know the meaning of *abandoning wife and children*; that term must have been learned from an adult.

He needed to figure out what was going on.

With that, Lu Junshen hung up.

Hearing Sui Sui's sobs, Xia Nanzhi felt her heart breaking. She immediately wanted to head to the hotel Lu Junshen mentioned.

But after taking two steps, she stopped.

No.

She had already seen Lu Junshen once at the auction house. Seeing him again so soon would be too frequent, making it far too easy for him to discover that she was Xia Nanzhi.

If he discovered she was Xia Nanzhi, he would immediately realize that Sui Sui was his daughter.

No.

Absolutely not.

Xia Nanzhi paced back and forth twice with her phone in hand, then called her best friend, Meng Chu.

Half an hour later, Xia Nanzhi drove, with Meng Chu, Niannian, and Chenchen, to the Di Hai Hotel that Lu Junshen had mentioned.

On the way, Xia Nanzhi had explained the whole situation to Meng Chu.

What Xia Nanzhi needed was for Meng Chu to go in and retrieve Sui Sui.

"Zhizhi, are you sure this is feasible?"

"I'm sure." Xia Nanzhi held Meng Chu's hand. "Chuchu, I'm leaving Sui Sui to you."

Looking at Xia Nanzhi's worried eyes, Meng Chu patted her chest. "Don't worry, I will definitely bring Sui Sui back."

Meng Chu got out of the car and walked into the hotel with the air of someone who could hold off an entire army single-handedly.

Xia Nanzhi could only stay at the entrance with Niannian and Chenchen, praying that everything would go smoothly.

...

"Waaaaahhhhh..." Sui Sui sat on the sofa, covering her face with her small, chubby hands, crying sadly as she looked up.

Lu Junshen sat to the side, frowning as he watched.

Jiang Ze had run to several places and bought a pile of candy. "Sir."

Lu Junshen glanced at the handful of sweets. "Is this the method you were talking about?"

Jiang Ze twitched the corner of his mouth. "Children love candy. Sir, why don't you try coaxing her?"

"Me? Coax her?"

*The little girl is the one you brought back yourself, if you don't coax her, who will?*

Lu Junshen looked at the inconsolable Sui Sui, stood up helplessly, walked over, and simply scooped her up into his arms.

Sui Sui was very light; one arm was enough for Lu Junshen to hold her.

Sui Sui's little bottom rested on his forearm, and she looked up at his gloomy face with red eyes.

"Haven't your parents taught you that crying doesn't solve problems?"

Sui Sui sobbed, "Then if Sui Sui stops crying, can you let Sui Sui go right now?"

"No."

Sui Sui pursed her small lips, and tears fell, plop, plop.

Looking at her pitiful appearance, Lu Junshen's cold, hard heart softened a bit. He picked up a candy and tried to coax her. "Do you want this?"

Sui Sui took a look.

A lollipop.

She wasn't interested.

She couldn't see Mommy; that wasn't something a lollipop could fix.

Sui Sui pressed her lips together, her tears continuing to flow.

Lu Junshen raised an eyebrow. "Two?"

"Three?"

"Let's negotiate, five!"