hotmtlnovel Chapter 703 Trying My Best to Find
Chapter 703 Trying My Best to Find
He Feng looked at Qin Huairu's swollen, red eyes, her eyelids still wet with tears, filled with an almost desperate plea and barely concealed fear. His heart felt heavy, as if something was blocking it, making it hard to breathe. He really didn't want to deceive her with empty words like "Don't worry, we'll do our best"—at this moment, any promise seemed pale and powerless. But duty called for him to keep his tone calm and reassuring: "We will investigate this matter thoroughly and show no leniency. Don't just cry; think carefully. Have you had any arguments with anyone, inside or outside the courtyard, recently? Or unintentionally offended anyone? Even a verbal altercation or a displeased glance could be a clue. Don't miss anything."
Qin Huairu opened her mouth, but her throat felt like it was filled with a tangled mess of water, a painful, choking sound. She stammered for a long time, unable to utter a coherent sentence. Over the years in the courtyard house, she had borrowed rice from one family and begged for flour from another for the family's sustenance, for Banggeng and Xiaodang's food. She was used to a life of bowing and scraping, always having to smile obsequiously at everyone. If she had to say who she had offended, it seemed she had some inexplicable grudge with everyone—she had recently argued with her second aunt over borrowing coal briquettes, and had a falling out with Xu Damao over Banggeng stealing chickens. But she couldn't think of anyone so ruthless as to steal a child. She could only stare blankly at He Feng, the light in her eyes dimming little by little, like a candle flame extinguished by the wind.
He Feng sighed, knowing full well that expecting her to come up with clues immediately was unrealistic. He turned to Huang Jing beside him and said, "Take two people and go ask the neighbors carefully, especially Old Zhang's house at the alley entrance and Aunt Li's house around the corner. They sit at their doorways all day sewing shoe soles and chatting, and they have sharp eyes. Ask if anyone has seen a stranger loitering around nearby, or heard any noises late last night, even a child crying or strange footsteps. Don't overlook anything. The rest of you come back to the station with me and reorganize today's statements to see if we can make any progress."
Huang Jinggang responded with a "Yes," and Qin Huairu suddenly knelt down with a thud, her knees hitting the bluestone slabs with a dull thud that tugged at the heartstrings. She grabbed He Feng's trouser leg, her knuckles white from the force, almost digging into the fabric. Her voice was choked with sobs, broken and fragmented like crumpled paper: "Director He... I know... I know I was immature before, I argued with you about Banggeng, said things I shouldn't have, and caused you a lot of trouble... But this time, I beg you, please help me find my child... Jia Cai is so young, he's just learned to call me 'Mama'... He's my only hope now, he's my life..."
He Feng was taken aback by her sudden action and quickly bent down to help her up: "What are you doing? Get up! The ground is cold!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her up, his hand finding it icy cold. "Investigating cases is our duty, it has nothing to do with the past, you don't need to do this." He looked at the muddy streaks of tears on Qin Huairu's face, and the bruise on her forehead from an accidental bump. The resentment caused by past friction was ultimately washed away by her heart-wrenching, desperate cries. "Don't worry, as long as there's a glimmer of hope, we won't give up. But investigating cases takes time, you have to stay calm, stay home and wait for news, don't panic—if you collapse, who will the children turn to when they come back?"
When Qin Huairu was helped up, her legs went weak, and she almost knelt down again. She stood there trembling, like a weed drenched in a downpour. She bit her lip hard until she tasted blood, then nodded forcefully and turned to slowly walk back to the courtyard. Her back was as thin as a leaf eaten by insects, swaying in the wind as if it might be swept away at any moment.
He Feng watched her figure disappear behind the courtyard gate, his brows furrowing deeply. He knew this couldn't be rushed, but he also knew that in these days without surveillance cameras, relying entirely on witness testimonies, the chances of finding a child who had just learned to walk and couldn't even speak properly were extremely slim. The alley was bustling with people from all walks of life; anyone could be a witness, or a perpetrator. It was like searching for a thread in a tangled mess; a moment's inattention could cause you to miss the crucial one.
"Director, shall we go?" Huang Jing whispered a reminder from the side, worried that he was wasting time as he stood still.
He Feng grunted in agreement, looked up at the sky. Low-hanging, leaden clouds hung heavy overhead, threatening rain and making his chest tighten. He took a deep breath and led his team towards the alley entrance—no matter how difficult, this case had to be investigated. Not for anything else, but for Qin Huairu's words, "the only life we have," they had to carve out a glimmer of light from this impenetrable despair. Even a tiny ray wouldn't allow this family to completely sink into darkness.
As He Feng and two police officers stepped out of the courtyard, before the creaking wooden door had even fully closed, Xiao Dang felt as if her bones had been instantly removed. Her back slammed against the doorframe, and she slowly slid down onto the rough wood. She lay sprawled on the cold ground, her chest heaving violently like a broken bellows, cold sweat trickling down her forehead and soaking her faded clothes.
She let out a long sigh of relief, a sigh tinged with lingering fear, a sense of relief, and a tremor she herself didn't even notice—her fingertips were still shaking, and she barely had the strength to grip the hem of her clothes. Just now, when He Feng was questioning her in the yard, she had kept her head down, staring at the tips of her shoes, not daring to lift her eyelids even slightly, afraid that a single wrong glance would give her away. That kind of fear of carrying a huge secret, being watched by invisible eyes, was ten times more unbearable than being caught red-handed stealing candy from the neighbor's as a child; it felt like her internal organs were being squeezed by a hand, suffocating and aching.
"Xiao Dang, what are you daydreaming about?" Qin Huairu walked out of the house with red and swollen eyes, her eyelids swollen like walnuts, her voice hoarse as if it had been sanded, tinged with tears, "Tomorrow morning, you'll come with me to find your younger brother Jia Cai. We'll start from the alley entrance, asking from house to house, even the garbage dumps and woodpile stacks, we have to search them all, understand?"
Xiao Dang snapped back to reality, looking up at her mother's haggard face—the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were knotted together from days of crying, and her lips were chapped and peeling. She opened her mouth, wanting to say, "He Feng just came by; maybe the police have some clues," but the words stuck in her throat, and she just nodded mechanically.
She knew that at this moment, the only way to avoid arousing suspicion was to obediently stay with her mother and act as if she was "eager to find her younger brother." If He Feng really found some clues and came back to question her in the yard, she could use the excuse of "going out with her mother to find her younger brother" to prepare in advance and avoid being caught off guard.