Chapter 3 Going Home
  "Have you found her?"

  Liu Chunxia stood up and went to greet her son when he came back. But her son still kept his head down and said nothing, so she understood that she still hadn't found her.

  Thinking of her daughter's beautiful face, and the series of rape cases that had occurred in other neighborhoods during this period, Liu Chunxia felt a chill in her heart, and her eyes suddenly went dark, and she fell down.

  "Second sister-in-law, what's wrong with you?"

  "Mom, Mom, how are you? Wake up, Mom!"

  The younger sister-in-law Fang Cuiying helped her sister-in-law lean on the kang, and immediately pinched her Ren Zhong. After a few seconds, Liu Chunxia took a long breath and woke up slowly.

  "Second sister-in-law, are you feeling better? Don't worry, I've asked Qiangzi to mobilize his friends to go out and look for Qingqing, and I promise to bring her back safely. And Qingqing is still young, maybe she was having fun at her classmate's house and forgot the time..."

  Liu Chunxia shook her head. She knew her daughter best. Until she was seven, she was a wild little girl, running around every day. But after she fell down the stairs that year, her personality suddenly changed. She

  stayed home every day instead of going out to play. When she was bored, she would read or draw, run around the yard, or even learn boxing from her uncle.

  At such a young age, she didn't like to interact with her peers and became less and less talkative, not acting like a child at all.

  At first, she thought she was sick, but after a long examination, the doctor said she was healthy and perhaps had a psychological problem. But there were no doctors to treat psychological problems at the time, so she had to bite the bullet and talk to her daughter.

  Perhaps because she was annoyed by her, the girl finally had a long talk with her. She said she had a dream in which she was being badly bullied. She was scared, so she didn't want to run around anymore.

  She just laughed it off and wanted to say it was just childish imagination, but the panic on her daughter's face made her bite her words.

  Perhaps for peace of mind, she even secretly found someone to get a talisman from a temple and hung it above her daughter's bedside. Ten years passed in a flash.

  During these ten years, the girl hadn't made a single friend, and her temperament had only grown colder. Despite the unanimous praise from her teachers for her intelligence, diligence, and hard work, her classmates all considered her an anomaly.

  At this thought, tears welled up in Liu Chunxia's eyes.

  Something must have happened to her poor girl! She wouldn't have stayed out so late just to play around!
  Fang Ming's face was filled with remorse. If he hadn't delayed her, his sister wouldn't have been missing until now!

  "Don't worry, Mom. My sister's fine. I'll go look for her right away and bring her back!" With that, he drew back the curtains and quickly disappeared into the night.

  A gloomy mood settled over the Fang household, and outside, chaos reigned.

  Fang Qing's uncle, Zhao Qiang, gathered all his co-workers and close friends and mobilized them to conduct a thorough investigation along each street.

  But after most of the night had passed and the entire small town had been searched thoroughly, Qingqing still hadn't been found.

  The men of the Fang family felt heavy-hearted, unsure how to face their heartbroken families. They huddled against the walls, cigarette butts soon covering the ground.

  Zhao Qiang took the last puff of his cigarette, abruptly stood up, and angrily stomped on the cigarette butt. Looking at his brother-in-law and two nephews squatting beside him, he sighed.

  "Brother, take the kids back and rest first. My brothers and I will search further afield. I just can't believe a living person could be gone."

  Zhao Qiang hugged his hat tightly, stamped his numb feet, and strode into the night. The

  entire Jingtan County was in turmoil for most of the night, and finally even the police were mobilized to search every suspicious location, but still nothing was found.

  After assigning tasks to his subordinates, the police station chief, Wen Youliang, finally dragged his stiff feet back home. He knocked on the door for a long time before his son, Wen Ning, came out.

  Wen Ning opened the door, but before he could explain to his father the sudden appearance of a new person in the house, his younger sister, Wen Ling, had already rushed out, dragging him along and telling him everything.

  "You mean, that child is in our house now?" Wen's father was a little confused. They'd gone through the entire county, and now someone was right under their noses?
  Watching Fang Qing awkwardly lift a corner of the curtain and slowly emerge, Wen's father was stunned. He pointed at the two children for a long time before finally sitting down in a chair, holding his knees in anger.

  "You two saved someone, why didn't you tell me earlier? There was chaos outside last night, and you three didn't hear anything from inside?"

  Wen Ling explained with a pout. "Last night, she was blocked in the alley by a group of thugs. We were afraid they'd return, so we didn't dare open the door even when they knocked. Who knows if they were good guys or bad guys..."

  Wen's father sighed helplessly. At least the child was fine, and their efforts hadn't been in vain. Resigned to his fate, he stood up and pushed his bicycle out the door.

  "Come on, I don't need to rest either. I'll take her home right now, so her family won't be worried..."

  Fang Qing turned around and glanced at the brother and sister, bowed deeply to them, and was about to say something when Wen Ling pulled her out the door again, "Okay, okay, let's go home first. We are in the same school anyway, and there will be plenty of time to chat later."

  Fang Qing sat in the back of the car, carefully holding the armrest under the seat, and then looked back at the gate of the courtyard.

  The brother and sister stood in front of the door, and when they saw her turn around, they smiled and waved.

  In the morning light, the boy and girl stood there quietly. The golden sunlight cast a layer of light on the two of them, like fairies in the sky, instantly dispelling the demons in Fang Qing's heart.

  Fang Qing watched this scene for a long time, until the car turned a corner, she withdrew her gaze, but a trace of vitality finally appeared on her face that had not smiled for many years.

  Fang Qing was safely returned to the Fang family home. As soon as she entered, Liu Chunxia rushed out and hugged her daughter. She checked her up and down several times, and seeing that she was truly alright, she began to cry and pound on her shoulders.

  "You wicked child, where have you been... wuuuuuuuuu... Do you know how worried our family is! You heartless child... Why did you come back so late?"

  Seeing her mother's near-madness, Fang Qing finally stepped forward and embraced her, venting the grievances she hadn't been able to vent to anyone in her past life.

  Although ten years had passed since her rebirth, she had been haunted by the constant fear of the past.

  But only at this moment did she finally understand that as long as she didn't let go of the past, afraid to face the new life, her soul would remain stuck in that moment forever.

  Looking at her family around her and her mother, still young and healthy, Fang Qing felt for the first time truly grateful to God for giving her a second chance.

  Leaning on her mother's shoulder, tears streamed down her face.

  "Mom, I'm home."

  (End of Chapter)