NOVEL NEXT 109. Gokuraku Jodo
“Once you’re lost, you can’t escape. If you want to have some fun, come join us in the Paradise Land~”
Ling Ning hummed a tune from some unknown version of “Gokuraku Jodo” as she walked slowly on her way home. It had already been several days since she posed as Zhou Xiaoxiao’s boyfriend. From the feedback she’d gotten from Zhou Xiaoxiao, it seemed everything was moving in a positive direction. That brought a sense of relief to Ling Ning, though there was still one more problem that needed solving.
Until Zhou Xiaoxiao found her true love, Ling Ning had to go to her house every now and then to keep up appearances. She couldn’t help but feel this was all rather troublesome. Just thinking about having to put on that tight binder again filled her with a sense of melancholy that made it impossible to keep humming.
“Sigh…”
Ling Ning sighed helplessly. There wasn’t much she could do about it; after all, this was about Zhou Xiaoxiao’s lifelong happiness. If she could help, she would. While Ling Ning was lost in thought, a strange scene on the side of the road caught her attention.
A gaudily dressed middle-aged woman was speaking to an adorable little girl. From the looks of it, the woman was trying to drag the girl somewhere, but the child clearly seemed reluctant.
“Hey, little one, come with Auntie. Auntie will take you to get some candy~”
“No, I don’t want to! I don’t know you. Mommy said I shouldn’t go with strangers.”
“Then how about Auntie takes you to find your mommy?”
The little girl shook her head again. She just knew that this smiling middle-aged woman in front of her was up to no good. Her instincts told her so.
And as it turned out, a child’s instincts can be surprisingly accurate. This gaudily dressed woman was part of a child trafficking organization. Over the past while, she had successfully abducted several innocent children. Today, she’d set her sights on this porcelain-doll-like little girl.
In her years of experience, a child as pretty as this one would definitely fetch a good price. But this stubborn little kid was proving to be a tougher catch than expected. She’d been trying to convince her for ages, yet the child was still resisting. If it weren’t for the number of passersby, she would’ve used force already.
Narrowing her eyes, Ling Ning looked at the middle-aged woman. Judging from what she’d heard, there was something off about her. Ling Ning remembered the news reports on TV from the last few days, mentioning children being abducted. She had even warned Ling Ye and Qin Sirou to be extra careful on their way to and from school.
“Xiaoxue, there you are! Your mommy’s been looking everywhere for you~”
The middle-aged woman tensed up as she saw Ling Ning walking over. Human traffickers fear nothing more than running into someone familiar with their target while they’re trying to abduct a child. Chances are they’d lose their opportunity entirely.
The little girl looked up at Ling Ning in confusion. She didn’t recognize this pretty big sister, yet the woman had called her by name.
“Excuse me, why are you talking to our Xiaoxue?” Ling Ning smiled brightly at the middle-aged woman. Seeing the flash of panic in her eyes, Ling Ning became even more certain that she was a human trafficker.
The middle-aged woman forced an awkward smile. “I—I just saw this little girl standing here alone and thought she was lost. Since someone she knows is here now, I’ll be going.” She turned and left in a hurry.
After the woman left, Ling Ning squatted down and smiled at the adorable little girl. “Hey there, the bad lady’s gone now. Can you tell me why you were standing here alone?”
The little girl looked at Ling Ning, hesitating. She wasn’t sure if this pretty big sister was just like that other woman.
Scratching her head, Ling Ning pulled her phone out of her bag and handed it to the girl. “Do you know your mommy’s phone number? How about you call her?”
The little girl shook her head again. Mommy’s phone number was so long—she couldn’t remember it.
Ling Ning sighed. She had no other choice but to call the police and let them handle it. Just as she was about to make the call, the little girl tugged on the hem of her skirt and whispered, “Linjiang. I live in Linjiang Complex.”
“Huh!?” Ling Ning stared at the little girl, at a loss for words. Just a moment ago, she was so wary, and now she was suddenly telling her where she lived? Kids’ thought processes were truly a mystery.
“Linjiang Complex, huh?” Ling Ning thought for a moment. That name sounded familiar. Then it clicked—wasn’t that the neighborhood where Qin Qing lived?
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
Ling Ning walked along slowly, with the little girl trailing behind her, holding onto the hem of her skirt as if she were afraid Ling Ning would run away.
As they passed a bakery, Ling Ning felt a tug on her skirt. Turning around, she saw the little girl looking up at her with big, watery eyes.
“Hungry.”
“Huh?”
“Donut.” The little girl stared longingly at the donuts in the window display.
Ling Ning rolled her eyes, sighing helplessly, and led the girl into the shop. She bought two donuts for her.
The little girl looked so happy eating her donut that Ling Ning couldn’t help but reach out and pat her head. The little girl looked up at Ling Ning for a moment, not minding the hand on her head, and went back to eating her donut.
“Here, you eat.”
Noticing she was the only one eating, the little girl seemed to feel a bit embarrassed. She held out her half-eaten donut to Ling Ning.
Seeing the reluctance in the little girl’s eyes, Ling Ning chuckled softly. “You eat it. Once you’re done, I’ll take you home.”
The little girl, however, seemed unmoved by Ling Ning’s words and kept holding up the donut, as if to say, “If you don’t eat, I won’t eat.”
“You remind me of Ye Ye in a way…”
Ling Ning brushed her hair aside, leaned down, and took a small bite out of the donut. It was sweet, with a hint of loli flavor—delicious.
Soon enough, the two donuts were gone, and Ling Ning led the little girl back to Linjiang Complex. Just as they entered the neighborhood, a beautiful young woman came running over and hugged the little girl tightly.
“Mommy!”
“Xiaoxue, where did you go? Mommy was so worried!”
Hearing the woman call the little girl “Xiaoxue,” Ling Ning was a bit surprised. She had only called her that on a whim, and it turned out to be her actual name. Watching the reunion between mother and daughter, Ling Ning was about to slip away quietly, but the little girl grabbed her skirt again.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
Author’s Note:
Today’s been so frustrating. I finally got some inspiration, but I kept getting called away for chores. By the time I was done, the inspiration was all gone. Managed to finish this chapter by six somehow~