40 Chapter 40

On the way back home, Daiyu climbed onto Wang Jing's lap. She rested her cheek on his chest while she held onto Liu Jin's hand tightly. Wang Jing continued stroking her hair during the entire ride, soothing her little heart that had been rattled by today's events.

Upon arriving home, her grandfather kissed her good night before Liu Jin gently led her away to bathe her. When she had freshened up, he dried her hair as usual and she fell asleep in his arms. He tucked her in bed and kissed her forehead goodnight before returning to his own room.

---

Morning came and Daiyu woke up from a nightmare. When the maids heard a commotion coming from her room, they quickly checked in on her and found her on the floor, disheveled and crying loudly.

They immediately called for Wang Jing but the old man had already left the mansion an hour earlier. Liu Jin was likewise notified and he rushed into the room to find Daiyu surrounded by maids who tried to comfort her but to no avail.

Upon seeing Liu Jin, Daiyu cried even louder. She stood up and quickly ran to him, her little hands gripping his shirt tightly. She kept calling out his name, 'Jin-gege! Jin-gege!' as if he couldn't hear her cries.

When Butler Tang arrived in the room, Daiyu likewise held onto him tightly – one hand stayed wrapped around Liu Jin while another held onto Butler Tang's sleeve. Liu Jin carried her in his arms, patting her back as he coaxed her.

While she had stopped wailing, Daiyu continued crying, her tears gently streaming down her face. Butler Tang had instructed the maids to prepare some warm milk for her and upon finishing her glass, she soon returned to sleep.

The maids all let out a sigh of relief. Watching their young mistress cry her little eyes out was too much for their hearts to take. The child was usually cheerful, running around the mansion and treating everyone as her friend. Seeing her hurt this much had hurt them too. She was everyone's little baby, after all.

"B-Butler Tang, maybe we should call for a doctor." They advised him.

"That's right. The incident yesterday must have traumatized her."

"Poor child!"

Butler Tang sighed. Right now, Wang Jing was busy investigating yesterday's matter. He was currently in a meeting with the police, the park's representatives, his private investigators, as well as Shuren's men. The old man was frustrated enough as it is. If he were to find out about this morning's incident, he would surely burn in rage even more.

"Uncle Tang, Daiyu's asleep now. I know you have matters to attend to. Please don't worry. I can take care of her from here."

Butler Tang smiled. Thankfully, Young Master Jin was very mature.

"Then I shall leave her in your care." He gently patted Liu Jin's head.

"Please call me when Zhihao arrives. I… I also want to know what happened yesterday." He looked up to Butler Tang solemnly and the man nodded in return.

"Alright, Young Master Jin." With that, Butler Tang and the maids left the room.

Liu Jin gently laid Daiyu back onto the bed but her little hands remained tightly gripped on his shirt. He chuckled and decided to join her under the sheets instead. He then stroked her hair, whispering words of comfort into her ears as she slept.

"Xiao Yu… Jin-gege is here… Jin-gege is here now. So… don't cry anymore. Jin-gege's heart hurts when he sees you cry." He gently kissed her forehead.

"I love you… I love you, Xiao Yu. I'm sorry… for letting you out of my sight… I'm sorry for making you go through a painful memory… I know… that I promised you a lifetime of happiness… but as early as now, your Jin-gege has already failed you." He smiled at her bitterly.

"But Jin-gege will try harder… I… I will work hard to become stronger…" He sniffed and wiped away a tear.

"Your Jin-gege will work very hard. I promise." He kissed her forehead again before hugging her tightly, burying his face on her hair. He cried silently, his little boy heart resolved to become a better man.

Meanwhile, Zhihao, who was standing by the slightly opened door, was crying too. He sniffed and wiped his tears away before looking down. He clenched his fists tightly and pushed the door open.

"Jin… I-I'm sorry…." He sniffed.

Liu Jin looked up and saw the crying boy with snot dripping from his nose. He chuckled.

"It's not your fault, why the hell are you crying?"

"B-but you're crying too." He responded while ugly crying.

Liu Jin laughed even louder.

"Come here."

Zhihao ran towards them and jumped onto the bed. He hugged Daiyu tightly too and continued sobbing. Daiyu woke up to find herself enveloped in warmth. She opened her eyes and saw her two big brother's crying. She quickly hugged both boys tightly.

"Pain, pain, go away." She blew onto their heads gently and the boys chuckled.

---

After the three children had calmed down, both boys began their serious talk. Daiyu continued lying down, hugging her stuffed bunny as she listened to their voices.

"So? What happened?" Liu Jin asked.

Zhihao then proceeded to recount the incident, starting from Daiyu's decision to sit on the cart, to the way he banged on the truck's walls, to how the truck stopped on an empty parking lot beside the highway, the bicycle chain, and their eventual arrival at the gas station.

Liu Jin rested his chin on his hand, pondering.

"Do you have enemies?"

"I do." Zhihao replied without a second thought.

Liu Jin rolled his eyes. He should have known.

"Well, this rules out retaliation from Kang Wei's men or even Yu Yanlin. If they were after my father, taking you and Daiyu away would be meaningless."

"Wait, we're leaning towards the direction of kidnapping? Why? Weren't they able to find the driver?"

"They've found the driver assigned to that truck but he was not the one who drove the vehicle at that time. When we checked the CCTV footage of the park, I saw that truck leave from the direction where I left you guys. So I asked my dad to check on the driver and the park personnel contacted him. He was actually with us in the lounge the entire time, waiting for you and Daiyu's return."

"… Wait, what? So you mean someone took his truck?"

Liu Jin nodded.

"He was having a break around that time. He left the truck and headed for the employees break room to eat. When he was called by the park personnel, that was the only time he noticed that his keys were missing."

Zhihao paused, digesting his words.

"That's why, I'm wondering if the motive was against the Zhengs… or against Daiyu." They both looked at the little girl who stared back at them with big innocent eyes.

"… Okay. To be fair, I have a lot of enemies. But… not now. Not yet."

Liu Jin looked him in the eyes and nodded.

"That means…"

Liu Jin sighed and closed his eyes.

"Who is it this time? Xiulan? Qiaoling?" He looked down and balled his fists.

"… Why would they leave us at an abandoned parking lot though? If it was Xiulan or Qiaoling, they would have gotten rid of us right away." Zhihao pondered.

"… Not only that. It was pure coincidence that you guys chose that cart to sit on."

Zhihao nodded.

"Well then, maybe check the CCTV again and see if someone was following us. Maybe he was looking for an opening and it just so happened that Daiyu and I chose the perfect getaway vehicle."

Liu Jin paused before nodding. He was right. That was a possibility.

"And whoever it was must be a park employee." Liu Jin added.

"Huh? Why?" Zhihao asked.

"Because he knew where to find the keys for the truck."

"… and the bike chain!" Zhihao's eyes widened upon his sudden realization.

Liu Jin looked at him, urging him to continue.

"The bike chain at the empty parking lot. He left the truck there and rode away on his bike. How did he know there was a bike there? Maybe he lives nearby."

Liu Jin's eyes shifted around, piecing their information together.

"Let's tell Butler Tang right away."

Zhihao nodded. They both stood up quickly, eager to tell the adults of their findings.

---

Meanwhile, Qiaoling was having a bad morning.

"What do you mean he abandoned the children?!" She screamed onto the phone in her hands.

"He got cold feet. He left them at an abandoned parking lot along Peony Road at around seven in the evening last night."

"Then what?! Did you get them back???"

"No. When he gave us a call, we drove to the area but the truck was already empty. We searched around the place but we didn't find them."

Qiaoling balled her fists, her long nails digging into her palms.

"Useless!" She swept her arm across the table and several bottles of perfume came crashing down.

She huffed and closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves down before continuing to speak.

"Silence him. Don't let that old geezer find him."

"… Sure, but…"

She gritted her teeth.

"I'll send you the money in advance! So do it properly!"

The man on the other end smirked.

"Alright. I'm on it."