A White Cloud (GL ABO) - Chapter 60

Five years brought countless changes to life.

Xiaomi pondered in her heart how Yuan Jin hesitated after learning the truth five years ago.

She could partly guess why Yuan Jin chose not to tell her.

Back then, her mental state worsened steadily.

Nightmares plagued her nightly, and sometimes, when alone, she faced mental breakdowns.

The frozen dead fish at home and the lab rats sent regularly all passed through Yuan Jin’s hands.
As her delusions and breakdowns grew frequent, the stench of bl00d in the house grew heavier.

Yuan Jin withheld the truth to avoid giving her false hope—a reason not hard to understand. But for Xiaomi, did this reason solve anything?

She didn’t know.

She only knew that when she sensed Yuan Jin obstructing her search for Yuan Hua, she questioned whether she should follow their advice.

Should she forget?

But could forgetting heal the rotting part of her soul, decayed by guilt?

Xiaomi sat in the pavilion all night.

As dawn broke, she dragged her exhausted body home, changed out of her gown, and covered her fatigue with makeup.

After confirming her appearance, she left for work.

Before driving, she sent a message to the private detective she hired.

[ Check bl00d test records from those two years for children suspected to be Xiaohua. Filter for γ-2 molecules in their biology and compile them for me. ]

Even if Xiaohua, like her, failed to differentiate, she would find her among the Beta children who failed differentiation.

Xiaohua, burning with fever, somehow left the amusement park.

Her tiny figure vanished at the edge of the surveillance.

A nearby park held a clue—someone saw a woman hurriedly carry a child away, muttering about going to a hospital.

Yet, that day, no trace of Xiaohua appeared in Huajing’s hospitals or clinics.

“She looked frantic, holding the child and crying,” an old man selling sweet potatoes there recalled, but he remembered no more details, only the woman’s anxious steps.

Ten minutes later, the detective replied with a simple “okay.”

Xiaomi drove on, ignoring the phone, which dimmed in the center console.

Xiaomi refocused and transferred a deposit to the detective’s account as usual.

She hoped for progress this time, pinning her hopes on the woman who took Xiaohua, wishing she treated her kindly.

—

A phone’s ring woke Tomb Cheng.

She grabbed the noisy device and held it to her ear, her low, hoarse voice heavy with fatigue. “Hello,” she said.

She dreamt bizarre dreams all night, feeling she forgot something vital.

A vague woman’s figure appeared often, surrounded by a crowd, beckoning her.

“Mu Mu, come here,” the woman said.

“Come to Mommy, Mu Mu.”

“Sis?” A questioning male voice snapped Tomb Cheng from her daze.

She frowned, opened her eyes, and realized the phone wasn’t hers.

Tomb Cheng covered the mouthpiece and leaned to whisper in Shen Zhiqing’s ear as she stirred.

“Your brother,” she said.

Shen Zhiqing took the phone.

As Tomb Cheng rose, she reached for her but grasped nothing—they were both naked, not a shred of clothing to catch.

Tomb Cheng missed the fleeting look in her eyes, tucked the blanket around her, dressed, put on her glasses, and left the room.

“Sis? Sis?” The voice on the phone kept calling.

Shen Zhiqing found him annoying, disturbing her early in the morning.

“Hm,” she said, lying back on the bed, one hand on her forehead.

Sleep faded completely from her bright eyes.

Shen Mu confirmed he spoke to Shen Zhiqing, certain he misheard earlier.

Seeing her message that morning sparked an odd familiarity.

His familiarity with Qin Yishui’s name clicked after scouring his social circles.

Wasn’t Qin Yishui the one nearly sued for attempted rape two years ago?

Shen Mu was sure he remembered correctly. The scandal had been huge.

“Sis, why ask about Qin Yishui?” he said, unsure how Shen Zhiqing knew her.

The girl had confronted the Qin family, and he knew because she was his elementary school classmate, already engaged.

Shen Zhiqing sipped from the water glass Tomb Cheng left on the nightstand, easing her throat before speaking.

“Do you know her?” she asked.

“Not really,” Shen Mu hedged, sharing what he knew.

Shen Zhiqing’s brows furrowed after listening.

Someone who skirted the edge of crime—no wonder Pei You said she, half-paralyzed, forced others into prostitution.

“Though Qin Yishui wasn’t involved in the drugged assault, the girl was taken from her party and assaulted in her villa, so she confronted the Qin family,” Shen Mu explained.

Not involved didn’t mean innocent.

Perhaps only those present knew the truth—Qin Yishui’s role, her actions, known only to her.

Shen Zhiqing cared little for such messes, but since Pei You mentioned Xu Yiyi, Qin Yishui likely held some clue about her.

Could the person Pei You said was forced into prostitution be Xu Yiyi’s birth mother?

The idea seemed absurd yet compelling.

For someone like Qin Yishui, who’d lost much, it wasn’t impossible.

Shen Zhiqing rolled over, wrapping herself in the blanket to Tomb Cheng’s side of the bed.

The Alpha’s lingering warmth had nearly faded.

She buried her face in the pillow, inhaling deeply, catching only a faint, cool scent.

Her soft voice muffled in the pillowcase.

“Do you have contacts in the Civil Affairs Bureau?” she asked.

Shen Mu thought for half a second.

“Want to check her marital status?” he replied.

Shen Zhiqing could only think of this possibility.

She doubted someone with Qin Yishui’s prominent background would marry quietly.

If Xu Yiyi’s birth tied to her, a Civil Affairs check would reveal marriage, divorce, or widowhood.

Before her guess could be confirmed, Tomb Cheng pushed the door open, seeing her still in bed.

“Get up for breakfast,” she said.

Shen Mu, sharp-eared, caught a stranger’s voice on his sister’s end, sounding so… casual?

“Sis! Who’s beside you?” he exclaimed.

Shen Zhiqing’s ears reddened quietly.

She answered Tomb Cheng, sat up, and promptly ended the call.

Shen Mu, “…”