As soon as she heard that Zhiliao had returned, Ji Nian turned her head and dashed out the door, leaving everyone behind.
Then she realized she had run in the wrong direction.
Turning back, she sprinted past Ji Tingzhou, clearly hearing her father’s mocking chuckle as she passed by.
Ji Nian covered her face in embarrassment.
Zhiliao, having just gotten off the plane, was guided briskly in this direction.
Her eyesight was sharp, and from a distance, she could see a small figure nimbly jumping down the steps and running toward her, nearly tripping over a crack in the stones.
Zhiliao instinctively reached out to catch her, but when the child steadied herself, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She quickened her pace.
“Zhiliao!!”
As they reached the stone path lit by streetlights, the child spotted her and waved enthusiastically.
Zhiliao wasn’t particularly fussy about clothes—as long as they were functional, she was fine. Except during workouts, she almost always wore the Ji Family’s work uniforms, which were practical, durable, and comfortable.
This time, however, she had surprisingly changed her outfit.
She wore a tailored satin black blazer with a simple camisole underneath, a black obsidian chain necklace around her neck, and a black skirt layered with an asymmetrical lace overlay.
No need to guess—Ji Tingzhou had picked it out.
Given Zhiliao’s own preferences, she would probably have gone out in the Ji Family’s clothes (her salary was mostly spent on building up her arsenal).
Ji Nian often saw Ji Tingzhou lamenting Zhiliao’s fashion sense, so now her wardrobe was filled with outfits he personally selected or had designers put together for her. All Zhiliao had to do was follow the combinations.
Ji Nian’s short legs couldn’t keep up with Zhiliao’s strides. Before she could get close, Zhiliao had already closed the distance and bent down to scoop her up in her arms.
“Zhiliao, you’re finally back!”
Ji Nian excitedly wrapped her arms around Zhiliao’s neck, nuzzling her chin with her hair.
Like a little animal, she became overwhelmingly affectionate after just a few days apart.
Zhiliao gently stroked the child’s soft hair. She had missed her during her time away.
It was strange—she hadn’t been like this before. But now, whenever she was away, she couldn’t help but wonder if Ji Nian was eating well, if she was sneaking extra ice cream, if Wei Yang was feeding her snacks again and ruining her appetite for dinner, if she was staying up late playing on her tablet, or if she was keeping up with her training.
She never thought she’d become this much of a worrier.
“Zhiliao, did you meet the Shen Family?”
Zhiliao hoisted Ji Nian up with one arm and nodded. “Yes, I did.”
“It was her grandparents.”
To be precise, for Zhiliao and Ji Tingzhou, they were Shen Rushan’s parents.
When Zhiliao first arrived, she was greeted by the couple’s niece, Shen Rushan’s cousin.
She had introduced herself as a representative of the Ji Family, and even though they were far from home, the Shen Family clearly recognized the name. They didn’t keep her waiting long before the elderly couple came out.
When they learned of Zhiliao’s purpose, they were stunned and immediately called for the grandparents.
Upon hearing news of Shen Rushan, the elderly couple broke down in tears. The grandfather nearly fainted from the shock.
“Shen Rushan was lost during a family trip,” Zhiliao explained.
“They were standing at a street corner waiting for the traffic light when a man suddenly harassed the grandmother. The grandfather rushed over and got into a scuffle with him.”
“The grandmother turned to pick up her son, only to find Shen Rushan gone.”
Ji Nian and Shen Qingtang sat together, their small hands tightly clasped as they listened to the story of how Shen Rushan had been abducted.
Ji Tingzhou’s expression remained unreadable. They all knew Shen Rushan had been trafficked.
After all, in that place, aside from locals like Ji Tingzhou and Wei Yang, most children were either abandoned due to illness or disability, or girls whose fates had been predetermined from birth.
The old man who had bought Shen Rushan had nearly emptied his savings. Children were a valuable commodity there—they could be used as slaves, traded as goods, and when they grew old enough to resist, they could be sold to organ traffickers for a hefty sum.
But in a twist of fate, the old man who had bought Shen Rushan was beaten to death not long after.
Ji Tingzhou had been the one to do it.
He had discovered the old man trying to kill Da Gen, their dog, for meat.
Zhiliao continued, “The elderly couple were both high school teachers. After their son went missing, the grandfather resigned to search for him.”
“The family fell into financial hardship, and the grandmother had to secretly tutor students to make ends meet. But she was reported and lost her job.”
Life became unbearable, and the grandfather had to return to work while the grandmother took over the search.
Over time, their health deteriorated.
Fortunately, their niece, who had been orphaned as a child and raised with their support, had gone abroad on a scholarship and stayed there to build a business. When she learned of their plight, she flew back, convinced them to seek medical treatment, and eventually took them overseas.
A few years later, a major trafficking case broke out, and among the long list of victims, the Shen Family saw a photo of their son.
By the time they returned, however, Shen Rushan was nowhere to be found. The traffickers claimed the child had fallen off a cliff and died.
After years of searching, this was the devastating outcome. The grandmother was so overwhelmed that she ended up in the ICU, barely pulled back after two days of intensive care.
The room fell silent as everyone processed the story.
For Shen Qingtang, this was her first encounter with the tragedy of human trafficking.
And the victim was her own relative.
Ji Tingzhou and Zhiliao glanced at Ji Nian, who was busy comforting Shen Qingtang. Seeing that she seemed unaffected, they relaxed slightly.
Zhiliao continued, “I told them about Shen Rushan’s situation.”
Upon hearing news of their son, the elderly couple’s hands trembled with excitement, only to be met with another heartbreak.
Fate had played a cruel joke on them.
After so many years, they had thought their son was long gone, only to discover he had been alive—but in the end, they were still left with his gravestone.
Shen Qingtang let out a sob, her cry piercing the heavy silence.
Her tears seemed to break Wei Yang’s composure. Clearly embarrassed, he stood up and stormed out to vent his emotions.
Ji Tingzhou remained silent, but the storm in his eyes betrayed his turmoil.
Zhiliao, who had been the first to face this tragedy, was now the calmest among them.
“Dad, are you going to go see them yourself?”
Ji Nian was also saddened. Though she hadn’t known Shen Rushan well, she knew how much he meant to the people she cared about.
So she felt their pain.
Ji Tingzhou’s gaze slowly shifted to Ji Nian’s face, and he nodded. “Yes.”
“Can I come too, Uncle Ji?”
Shen Qingtang, choking back tears, asked.
“Of course.”
After giving Zhiliao a few brief instructions and asking her to check on Wei Yang, Ji Tingzhou told the children to go to bed and left.
“Zhiliao, go see how Wei Yang is doing.”
“The servants are here. I’ll take Qingtang to bed.”
Zhiliao nodded. “I’ll go in a bit.”
Ji Nian took Shen Qingtang back to her room and stayed with her for a while. After wiping the lingering tears from the child’s eyes, she quietly got up to leave.
[There’s a bathroom in the room,] the system chimed in.
Ji Nian: “……”
[……I’m going to check on the princess.]
It’s not about going to the bathroom!!
