Upon arriving at the scene of the incident, numerous engineers were conducting surveys, searching for the missing individuals.
Su Ding's eyes immediately fell upon the area where debris was being cleared, revealing a pile that contained a tattered girl's jacket…
Her heart constricted with pain, and tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over!
That was… Xiao Rui's clothing.
Unable to control herself any longer, she collapsed onto the ground, touching the clothes that had been salvaged, and began to sob uncontrollably.
Jin Ye stood behind her. Seeing the blood-stained fabric and hearing Su Ding’s despairing cries, his heart ached deeply as well.
He could only reach around her, holding her shoulders tightly, unable to speak.
After crying for a while, Su Ding suddenly remembered something. She stood up and rushed towards the police, her eyes brimming with tears and filled with desperate hope as she looked at an officer:
“Have you found the five-year-old girl?”
The policeman glanced at her. “Are you a family member of a missing person?”
Su Ding choked back a sob and nodded emphatically.
The policeman frowned, observing her for a moment. “Please go to the front to register. In this situation, you’ll need to prepare yourself mentally. Please accept my condolences.”
Su Ding’s eyes were red, and she forced back her tears, nodding.
Jin Ye accompanied her to register. Seeing her pale face, she looked as though she was about to faint. “Let me take you home to rest first.”
Su Ding felt as if her soul had departed her body.
Jin Ye took her back to her apartment, helped her into her room to rest, and then called for someone from the company to bring over some documents.
As dusk approached, Jin Xiaoxi’s call came through.
“Daddy, where are you?”
“At Auntie Su Ding’s place,” Jin Ye replied faintly. He didn’t want to tell Xiao Xi about this.
“Can I speak with Auntie?”
“She’s resting now. When she wakes up, I’ll tell her to call you,” Jin Ye said.
Jin Xiaoxi felt a sense of unease. She had heard from the security guard that Auntie Su Ding had caused a scene at the house yesterday.
It seemed she had tried to kill that woman, Shao Lin, and had thoroughly frightened Grandma.
What on earth had happened?
Oh, right. Daddy was at Auntie Su Ding’s place, so did that mean he had seen Xiao Rui?
“Daddy, did you see Sister Xiao Rui?”
Jin Ye paused, then let out a low hum of assent.
Jin Xiaoxi’s mouth fell open in shock. “Then you…”
Did he not find his sister’s appearance strange?
Jin Ye’s mind flashed back to the photograph of the little girl. He felt there was some secret hidden within it.
“What do you want to say?” Jin Ye asked.
“Nothing,” Jin Xiaoxi replied blankly.
At that moment, a scream echoed from inside the room, “Give me back my child!”
Jin Ye immediately put down his phone and rushed into the room.
Su Ding’s face was streaked with tears, her hair disheveled. She clutched her face, crying hysterically.
Her quilt was soaked with tears, her face flushed, her body trembling as if she couldn’t breathe, entirely on the verge of suffocation.
Jin Ye firmly held her in his arms, gently patting her back, offering immense comfort without uttering a word.
Suddenly, Su Ding tightly gripped his hand.
She lifted her tear-filled eyes and stared at him intently, “Shao Lin is a murderer! Help me!”
Jin Ye felt a sharp pain from her grip, but he held her tighter, meeting her gaze and making a promise.
“Alright, I’ve already sent people to investigate. We will uncover the truth.”
Upon hearing this, Su Ding abruptly released him. “No! You leave… You won’t help me… You’re in league with her!”
Her entire body trembled as she glared at him hatefully. “Why! Why are you with her! I hate you! I hate you all!”
Jin Ye was somewhat bewildered by her sudden animosity, but he knew she couldn't accept the reality right now.
He cupped her shoulders with both hands, looking into her eyes, “I never loved her, never. I swear, in my entire life, I have only loved one woman, and that is you.”
Su Ding was beyond listening at this point. She clutched her hair in despair, whimpering and sobbing.
It was as if she were speaking to Jin Ye, but also to herself.
“After Mother passed away, I had planned to join her. But then I discovered I was pregnant.”
“Perhaps Heaven felt it was unfair to me and sought to compensate me by sending me such a lovely daughter. But… she was only five years old…”
Su Ding spoke through her tears, her voice growing colder and more resolute.
“Shao Lin ruined the first half of my life, destroyed my hopes. I want it back. I will make her pay the price!”
Looking at the almost frenzied woman before him, Jin Ye felt no fear or strangeness, but rather a deep ache in his heart.
He knew her hopes were gone.
He knew she was in extreme pain.
If he could, he would even bear it for her. The tears and hatred were almost crushing her.
After weeping for a while, Su Ding gradually regained a semblance of calm and fell into a long period of silence.
Jin Ye didn’t know what to say either, so he simply stayed by her side.
They sat in silence for nearly an hour before Su Ding pushed aside the blanket and started to get out of bed.
“What do you want?” Jin Ye quickly held her back and asked.
“Water,” Su Ding croaked, her throat raw.
“I’ll get it.”
Jin Ye rose swiftly and went to the kitchen to heat water. By the time he returned with the water, he found Su Ding had gone into the bathroom to shower.
The sound of flowing water gushed loudly.
He called out, feeling a touch of unease, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry.”
Su Ding’s voice was weak, but it sounded like her emotions had stabilized.