It was August. The sun was scorching hot while the air was humid and stuffy.
At the orphanage's entrance was a well-maintained middle-aged lady whose eyes were red from crying. She could hardly stand on her own as her husband, Xue Sheng, supported her delicate body. "So this is our pitiful daughter?"
The man's eyes reddened too and he nodded. "Yes."
Xue Sheng and his wife, Ye Li, were playmates when they were young and had since become a loving couple. However, after getting married, they lost their daughter accidentally. He had lost hope after searching for her for 18 years, but a surprise came unexpectedly and they found her in the orphanage.
He looked at the two people walking toward him, and his eyes fell on the girl who followed obediently behind the director of the orphanage.
She wore a white cap and donned a clean set of blue sports attire. Her black hair was neatly pulled into a ponytail, and she had exquisite facial features on her pale and porcelain-like face. She looked at them silently with her beautiful upturned eyes. Her eyes looked lost and misty.
In contrast to the other two who were agitated, she appeared a little… too calm.
Xue Sheng was slightly taken aback.
The two approached the couple, and the director pushed the girl in front of them. "Mr. Xue, Mrs. Xue, this is Xue Xi."
She then spoke to the girl. "Xixi, they are your parents and are here to bring you home."
Upon hearing the words, she finally focused her eyes on Ye Li.
The woman was agitated and tried to hold back as she looked longingly at the girl. Her lips trembled because she wanted to reunite with the girl, but she was careful, fearing that the latter would resist.
After some time, Xue Xi finally said, "Hello."
She sounded distant and apathetic.
Ye Li, nonetheless, did not sense that something was off. Unable to control herself, she hugged her daughter tightly and cried out loud, "My daughter, I've finally found you! You've suffered all these years!"
As the gentle and warm body leaned closed to her, Xue Xi froze as she was not used to such intimacy.
Yet she could not bear to push the woman away.
While stuck in a dilemma, from the corner of her eye, she saw the man signaling the director and they both walked away. Xue Sheng asked really softly, thinking that the girl would not be able to hear him, "Director, is Xixi not well here…?"
He pointed at his head.
The director hurriedly explained, "No, Xue Xi is really smart, super intelligent. She is a well-known genius in our orphanage, and since she is very engrossed in studying, she is slightly slower in social interactions."
Genius?
Xue Sheng did not take it seriously and wished only that the girl was not dumb.
He took a deep breath, and when Ye Li had collected herself, they got inside the car and headed home.
Xue Xi looked out of the window in silence. Those messy streets and the orphanage's old gates slowly passed by her as the car moved. When the car took a turn, all those were no longer seen and the faint sadness of parting started to sink in.
They did not notice that after they had left, a black, low-profile land rover slowly came to a stop at the orphanage's entrance.
There were two people in the car.
The chauffeur turned around and said, "General Xiang, we're one step behind."
The man on the backseat was sitting upright. His lower jaw appeared firm. The faint light in the car caused his near-perfect features to be covered with a layer of thin mist.
His shrewd eyes made others terrified from the depths of their hearts, and they dared not to look at him in the eye.
Xiang Huai's well-defined, long fingers gently knocked against the handle twice. He coldly reminded the chauffeur, "Address me differently while we're outside."
The chauffeur quickly changed his way of addressing. "Yes, Boss."
He could not fathom the man's thoughts and asked, "Do we just go to the Xue family and snatch the person?"
Although the Xue family had a high status in Bin City and was influential there, its status could not hold a candle to this man.
Unexpectedly, the man paused for a moment and replied, "No need to rush."
The chauffeur was in a daze. They finally found the girl after searching for a long time, so why is the Boss not anxious?
While he was deep in his thoughts, he heard the man's orders. "I'll personally follow-up on her matters."