Qi Yu instructed his secretary to get the car ready, and then turned around to look for the workers' representative, Rong Xuelan, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Rong Xuelan?" Qi Yu asked.
A dark-skinned man replied, "Her child started crying, so she went to calm them down."
Qi Yu paused.
Rong Xuelan looked like she was barely in her early twenties.
She was already married and had a child?
"Is her husband here on the construction site too?" Qi Yu asked.
"Her husband ran off a long time ago, leaving her to raise the child alone," the man tutted. "It's lucky that Xuelan's very independent girl. She's been working hard to bring the kid up by herself."
Qi Yu nodded, exhaling slowly. "Rong Xuelan knows the situation here best. Go and call her. She can bring the child along to the station."
He glanced at the worn-out police car that was parked outside the construction site and added, "Let her ride with me. My car has more space."
When Rong Xuelan returned to the dormitory, she realized her back was drenched with cold sweat.
Qi Yu's presence was overwhelming.
When speaking to him, she couldn't help but stay on guard, fearing he might notice something.
Sitting on her bunk bed, Rong Xuelan held the sobbing Dou Dou in her arms while patting his back gently. "Dou Dou, be good. Don't cry, okay?"
Dou Dou's small hand clung tightly to her white T-shirt, his chubby face streaked with tears as he burrowed into her embrace.
Rong Xuelan's heart twisted painfully.
She guessed that the noise outside had scared Dou Dou, and now that it was quieter, he should feel safer.
Yet, for some reason, Dou Dou's tears kept flowing like a flood, soaking her T-shirt completely.
She quietly soothed him while wiping away his tears with a damp tissue.
As Rong Xuelan scrambled to comfort her son, a knock suddenly came at the door.
"Xuelan, it's me, Jiang Nan. The officer asked you and Mr. Qi to go to the police station to give a statement."
With Mr. Qi?
Rong Xuelan didn't want to go.
She wanted to avoid further interaction with him.
She opened the door while holding Dou Dou in her arms, looking helpless. "Dou Dou's been crying non-stop, and I can't figure out why. Why don't you go in my place?"
"No way," Jiang Nan said, his face flushing a deep shade of red. "I'm no good at talking. What if I forget something and Li Daikun doesn't end up in jail?"
"Dou Dou can't be away from me; I have to comfort him, or he'll just keep crying," said Rong Xuelan.
It was true.
Dou Dou had always been like this.
Perhaps because Rong Xuelan had overexerted herself during pregnancy, Dou Dou's health had been frail, and he clung to her constantly.
And Rong Xuelan also had her own reasons: she didn't want to face Qi Yu.
Jiang Nan who is believing that Rong Xuelan was genuinely concerned about Dou Doun's attachment, chuckled naively. "It's fine! Mr. Qi said you can bring Dou Dou along and ride in his car. He said it's spacious!"