An Jing looked over, only to see a dirty child squatting on the ground, supporting the unconscious Xiao Xingxing.
If Tianyi hadn't said anything, he wouldn't have recognized Xiao Xiao. Her originally golden hair had turned black and gray, and her fair little face was also smudged with dirt.
As An Jing looked at Xiao Xiao, several people lunged at him.
Tianyi shouted, "Be careful!"
He snapped back to attention and struck out with fury, his blows fierce and accurate.
Having finally found Xiao Xiao, he was determined not to let her fall into the hands of bad people again.
Tianyi wanted to check on Xiao Xingxing, but he couldn't abandon his brother, so he chose to fight alongside An Jing.
An Jing pushed him and said, "You go quickly and check on the two children. I can handle these beasts myself."
As soon as he finished speaking, the private detectives who had split off from them also rushed over.
A private detective who had stayed by the shore to wait for the police arrived with a large contingent of officers.
Seeing the police, these human traffickers stopped fighting Tianyi and An Jing and scattered like birds.
The police began to pursue them in all directions. Tianyi and An Jing did not join the chase, but instead ran towards Xiao Xingxing and Xiao Xiao.
These human traffickers were truly detestable and deserved to be caught and severely punished, but the two children were the priority now.
Tianyi squatted down and looked at Xiao Xingxing, whose face was pale. He checked his breathing. Fortunately, he was still alive. He immediately picked him up and said to An Jing, "He must have had a heart attack. We need to get him to the hospital immediately!"
An Jing took Xiao Xiao's hand and said, "You go quickly to the shore and have the police speedboat take you to the hospital."
"I just gave Xingxing Ge Ge a pill," Xiao Xiao said anxiously, wanting to go with Tianyi.
An Jing scooped her up, brushed the hair from her face, and said emotionally, "Xiao Xiao, with your Uncle Qin here, Xiao Xingxing will be alright."
Xiao Xiao looked longingly at Xiao Xingxing, who was being held by Tianyi, and he soon disappeared from her sight.
She tightly hugged An Jing's neck and whispered, "Daddy, will Xingxing Ge Ge be okay?"
"He will be fine," An Jing said firmly.
Xiao Xiao rested her face on his shoulder, feeling safe, and said, "That's good."
An Jing gently patted her back and said, "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright..."
Xiao Xiao winced in pain as her back was touched.
An Jing immediately sensed something was wrong. He carefully lifted her torn clothing from her back and saw that she was covered in wounds. He gasped.
"Does it hurt a lot?"
Xiao Xiao grunted and couldn't help but cry again. She couldn't remember the last time someone had cared about her.
"Let's go home," An Jing said, his eyes also reddening. He carried her away from that dreadful place.
...
Tianyi rushed Xiao Xingxing to the same hospital as before. The specialist in charge of Xiao Xingxing's surgery took emergency measures and conducted corresponding examinations.
Tianyi waited outside the emergency room, holding his head, his phone constantly ringing.
He glanced at it; they were all calls from Susu.
But until he knew Xiao Xingxing was out of danger, he didn't dare answer Susu's calls. He felt fortunate that Susu hadn't seen Xiao Xingxing's慘狀 (miserable state) at the time.
He gritted his teeth, wanting nothing more than to see these villains punished once Xiao Xingxing was safe.
If the police didn't catch them, he would find a way to catch them all and make them all pay!
After an unknown amount of waiting, the emergency room door finally opened from the inside.
The renowned specialist and two assistants emerged. He said to Tianyi, "The child's life has been saved. Fortunately, he was taking medication during his absence. However, it's impossible for his heart to fully recover to normal. He will need lifelong medication..."
"Did something go wrong with the surgery? Can another surgery be performed? No matter the cost," Tianyi said urgently.
The specialist explained, "Heart surgery is not a minor procedure, especially for such a young child. It's impossible to perform consecutive surgeries. The previous surgery was actually very successful, but the post-operative recovery was not ideal. The defect in his heart hasn't completely healed, but as long as he takes medication long-term, it won't affect his normal life."
Tianyi did not want Xiao Xingxing to be on long-term medication at such a young age and asked, "Is there no way to cure it completely?"
"This... we'll have to see when he's an adult," the specialist said. "Perhaps medical advancements for the heart will be greater by then."
Tianyi understood the specialist's subtle meaning. The current specialist had no further solutions.
The specialist instructed him, "Remember not to let the child engage in strenuous physical activities in the future. Try to maintain emotional stability in daily life, and have regular check-ups."
Tianyi could only nod, accepting the reality with resignation.
Although Xiao Xingxing would need long-term medication and careful management of his life, he was grateful that Xiao Xingxing's life had been saved.
Perhaps, as the specialist said, by the time Xiao Xingxing reached adulthood, there might be a complete cure.
After Xiao Xingxing was moved to a regular ward, Tianyi finally called Susu back.
"Tianyi, why haven't you been answering your phone? Are you still searching for that deserted island at sea?"
"We're not at sea anymore. Xiao Xingxing has been found."
"Really?" Susu's voice trembled with disbelief.
"I've already sent him to the hospital we were at before. Once he recovers, I can bring him back to Lancheng." Tianyi decided not to tell her yet that Xiao Xingxing's heart could not fully recover.
Susu cried tears of joy, unable to contain her sobs. "Let him speak to me."
"He suffered a lot in the hands of the human traffickers and is now asleep. When he wakes up, I'll have him video call you."
"Okay." Susu missed Xiao Xingxing too much. She said, "Video call now, let me see him sleeping."
"Then I'll hang up first." After ending the call with her, Tianyi switched to video mode and pointed the phone at Xiao Xingxing's sleeping face.
Through the video, Susu saw that Xiao Xingxing had lost so much weight. He had gained quite a bit of weight when she was taking care of him at the hospital before, but now his face was gaunt.
No, not only was his face thin, but there were also obvious bruises and scratches on it.
"What happened to Xiao Xingxing's face? Was he hit?"
Tianyi couldn't describe his feelings, a mix of relief at finding him again and self-reproach for not finding the child sooner.
"It was probably the human traffickers who hit him, but the doctor said they were all superficial injuries and nothing serious."
"That's good." Susu was already content that the child had been found safe and sound. "I won't disturb his sleep. I'll contact him when he wakes up."
"Okay." Tianyi hung up the video first and sat by the hospital bed, gently holding Xiao Xingxing's hand, feeling that he had always owed this child.
"Daddy, Mommy! Save me!" Xiao Xingxing suddenly clutched his hand in his sleep, mumbling in his dream, "Save me... Xiao Xiao, Xiao Xiao, I will protect you..."
Tianyi soothed him, "It's okay, Daddy is here with you. I'll help drive away those bad guys."
Xiao Xingxing seemed to hear his words in his sleep and slept more peacefully.