Prev | TOC | Next
———
~ Please support this site by disabling your ad-blocker ❤️ ~
______
CHAPTER 5
PART 2
Su Xiaotong rarely got this frustrated, or rather, panicked. After bringing her crying son back home, she closed the door and yelled, "Enough, stop crying!"
However, this seemed to make Gu Xiaoliang cry even harder. Gu Lei hugged the child and said, "Xiaotong, stop yelling, you've frightened him."
Su Xiaotong didn't pay much attention to that. She walked up to Gu Xiaoliang, grabbed his shoulder, and sternly asked, "What did you say just now? Say it again!"
Amidst his loud sobs, Gu Xiaoliang wasn't willing to obey.
Su Xiaotong pointed at his nose and said fiercely, "If you dare to talk nonsense like that in front of everyone again, I won't let you interact with anyone! No parks, no playgrounds, no playing with other kids!"
Whether Gu Xiaoliang truly understood was unclear, but he continued crying and nodded his head like a chicken pecking at grains, looking very pitiful.
Gu Lei picked him up and took him into the bedroom. Su Xiaotong walked to the balcony and let out a frustrated sigh.
At that moment, the beautiful evening glow appeared as if a palette had been knocked over, devoid of any aesthetic appeal in her eyes.
After about fifteen minutes, Gu Lei emerged from the room and came to the balcony. He said to Su Xiaotong, "You were too harsh just now. I had to console him for a long time to get him to stop crying."
"Let's not worry about that for now. Did you catch what he said just now?" Su Xiaotong asked.
"I know something happened, so I could understand. But others might not have."
"Really? Are you sure they didn't hear what Xiaoliang said?"
"It's likely, Xiaoliang had food in his mouth at the time, so his speech must have been unclear. I could see confusion on their faces."
"Even if they heard, they'd be confused!" Su Xiaotong said anxiously. "Did he say, 'I know what death is, just like my dad'?"
"Seems like it."
"Are you sure he said 'dad'?"
"I didn't catch it fully, but the pronunciation... does seem quite similar."
Su Xiaotong ran her hand through her hair, brows furrowed, and bit her lip. After a moment, she said, "This is bad. So many people heard him say that. What will they think?"
"Xiaotong, don't panic. If you think about it carefully, the information in that sentence is at most 'Xiaoliang's dad has already passed away,' but it doesn't mention how he died."
"But won't they start making associations and speculating?"
"And so what if they do? Do you think they can figure out what happened before based on that one sentence?"
"What if they tell Officer Tan about it?"
"Officer Tan is investigating Gong Yamei's murder. He doesn't have time for other matters. Besides, I don't think they'll tell Officer Tan about it."
"Do you think Li Xueli can keep a secret? And Fan Lin, she's quite nosy and likes prying into others' privacy."
Gu Lei thought for a moment. "Even if they did tell Officer Tan and he comes to ask us, it's okay. Haven't we already prepared a story?"
Su Xiaotong sighed, "We'll use that as a last resort. I had hoped to completely leave the past behind and never mention 'that incident' again. Otherwise, why did we move from Jingzhou to Lishi?"
Read only on https://royaltywrites.com.ng/
"Xiaotong, don't amplify your feelings. They all know Xiaoliang has some intellectual issues. They won't take his words that seriously."
"But I do. I never expected Xiaoliang to say something like that. What if he keeps saying shocking things out of the blue? What do we do then?"
"I don't think he will. Your attitude just now clearly scared him. I also talked to him in the room and told him not to do that again."
"If he could understand, he wouldn't be an intellectually challenged child,"
Su Xiaotong shook her head and sighed, closing her eyes.
"And our reaction just now was clearly too extreme, it's hard not to raise suspicion. But I couldn't help it, I couldn't leave him there for a second longer. What if he says something even more shocking?"
"Xiaoliang can't possibly reveal more. He doesn't know about that incident, at most, he knows that his biological father is no longer in this world," Gu Lei said, shaking his head.
"During this time, he's been close to me. I thought he already saw me as his dad, but it turns out he's still aware."
"Gu Lei, let's sell the house and leave this place," Su Xiaotong suddenly suggested.
"What?" Gu Lei said, surprised. "You want to move because of this small incident?"
"It's not just this, there are other reasons. Two years ago, there was a murder in the house Li Xueli lives in, and now it's happened again. I always feel like there's something wrong with this place."
"You mean Gong Yamei's murder? She didn't die in Li Xueli's house, so what's the connection to this house?"
"Of course, there's a connection. Gong Yamei was a frequent guest at Li Xueli's house, and she was killed after leaving that house. Do you think it's a mere coincidence that these incidents are happening one after the other?"
Gu Lei pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Even more crucially, if none of these incidents happened, it would be one thing. The police wouldn't randomly investigate us. But after a murder occurs, sooner or later, the police will look into us. No, they already have. Tan Yong came to question us this afternoon, didn't he?"
Read only on https://royaltywrites.com.ng/
"He's not targeting us specifically; he questioned everyone, didn't he?"
"I'm worried that as the police dig deeper into the case, they might uncover things I did in the past."
Gu Lei thought for a moment. "If that's the case, we can't leave here, at least not now. Gong Yamei just died, and if we move right after the police questioned us, it would be too suspicious. It would practically invite further investigation."
Su Xiaotong admitted Gu Lei's reasoning was sound. She sighed, "Then, let's wait until this matter settles down before considering it again."
"Okay."
"But I'm a bit worried."
"Worried about what? The previous...?"
"No, not just that."
"What else?"
Su Xiaotong looked at Gu Lei. "I don't know why, but I have this ominous feeling that similar things will happen again."
Gu Lei's expression darkened. "You mean, someone else will be killed after Gong Yamei?"
"Yes... I have that feeling. This matter has just begun; it's far from over."
"It's better not to casually say such things..."
"I'm not saying it casually."
"But you don't have any evidence."
"True, there's no evidence, but I have experience."
"What?"
"Perhaps my intuition is stronger than the average person's. Before danger happens, I seem to catch a whiff of it. I've been through such things before, remember?"
Gu Lei held Su Xiaotong in his arms. "If possible, I hope you never have to think about 'that matter' again."
Su Xiaotong nestled in Gu Lei's embrace. After a while, she said, "I should go comfort Xiaoliang. I really was too harsh on him just now."
Gu Lei nodded, and they walked into the bedroom together.
AWhen Xiaoliang saw his mother entering, he seemed a bit timid. Su Xiaotong squatted in front of him, gently holding her son's small hand and said, "Xiaoliang, Mommy yelled at you earlier, I'm sorry. Mommy won't do that again in the future."
Xiaoliang lowered his head, and Su Xiaotong embraced him, whispering softly in his ear, "Promise Mommy that you won't say these strange things in front of other people anymore, okay?"
Though she didn't hear a response, Su Xiaotong felt that her son had gently nodded. It already made her immensely relieved.
Holding Xiaoliang even tighter, she said, "Dinner wasn't finished earlier. Mommy and Daddy will take you to McDonald's, okay?"
Xiaoliang nodded again. Su Xiaotong and Gu Lei smiled together, holding their son's hands as they walked out of the house.
Read only on https://royaltywrites.com.ng/
———–—————————————
TL CORNER
Don't forget to vote and leave a review for this series' translation on novel updates!
Show support by clicking the button below (◍•á´—•◍)❤
———–—————————————
We hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can vote for this novel translation and drop a review here!❤️
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments
What's on your mind...