Chapter 9: Returning to the Lin Family

Just past four in the morning.

Lin Shan noticed that Shen Haochen had fallen asleep.

She quietly slipped out of bed, grabbed the bathrobe draped over the chair, and wrapped it around herself. Then she glanced once more at Shen Haochen.

He was sleeping soundly.

Silently, Lin Shan took her phone and headed to the living room.

She entered a series of numbers and made a call.

Once the other side answered, she hung up and began typing a message: "How’s the matter progressing? Found anything?"

The reply came swiftly: "I tracked one of the addresses from the delivery slip you gave me. After staking it out for days, I found a young girl."

Lin Shan asked: "Is she connected to Lin Ting?"

"Seems so. I saw her receive several more packages. The last digits of the sender on those slips match the last digits of the recipient on the one you gave me."

A sinister smile curved Lin Shan’s lips, her eyes flashing with malice. "I want all her information. Hurry."

"I understand, Mrs. Shen. The money you promised..."

"Not a penny less. As long as my engagement goes smoothly next week, the payment to you will be doubled."

"Don’t worry. I’ll send you an update tomorrow night."

Lin Shan deleted all the messages and call records.

After sitting in the living room for a while, she quietly returned to the bedroom.

...

Lin Ting had a restless night and woke up late the next day.

By the time she finished washing up and tidying herself, it was already past nine.

As she left her room, she knocked twice on Shang Moting’s door.

No one answered.

He wasn’t there.

Lin Ting didn’t think much of it and left.

In the following days, she didn’t see Shang Moting.

Nor did she see Wei Zhishu or Fang Cheng.

She couldn’t stay still or confined.

Every day, she came and went from the hotel.

Occasionally, she thought to knock on Shang Moting’s door again.

But no one ever opened.

She even wondered if Shang Moting had checked out.

It wasn’t until the day before Lin Shan’s engagement that she finally saw Shang Moting again.

That night, Lin Ting stepped out of a restaurant and stood by the roadside, intending to call a car home.

Lin Jinchuan called, asking her to come back.

It was a busy time; more than ten people were ahead of her waiting for a car.

Lin Ting wasn’t in a hurry—there was no rush to go home.

“Big sister, want to buy a flower?” a little girl’s voice piped up.

Lin Ting looked down to see a small girl holding a tiny basket, raising a single rose.

“Big sister, want to buy a flower? They’re pretty, just like you,” the girl said.

Lin Ting glanced around and noticed a woman nearby holding a similar basket and several woven flower garlands over her arm.

Probably the child’s parent.

Lin Ting knelt down and asked the girl, “How much are they?”

“Two yuan for one, five yuan for three,” the girl replied in a sweet, childish voice.

“I’ll take six, then,” Lin Ting smiled. “How much is that?”

“Two times five yuan,” the girl’s face lit up. “Wait a moment, I’ll get the flowers for you.”

“Okay, no rush,” Lin Ting said.

The little girl, still very young, carefully took the flowers out one by one from her basket.

The woman who had been following them approached.

The girl immediately said, “Mom, big sister is buying flowers.”

“Yes, I heard,” the woman said, gently stroking the girl’s face before speaking to Lin Ting, “I’ve been out here selling flowers with her for over an hour now, and she already feels comfortable talking to you.”

“Big sister is pretty, like a fairy,” the girl said.

“Big sister, here are three flowers for you, and three more,” the girl added, showing a QR code.

“Thank you,” Lin Ting smiled and opened her phone.

She sensed someone watching her and turned to see Shang Moting standing under a streetlamp not far away.

He was dressed all in black.

Mysterious and commanding.

Lin Ting narrowed her eyes slightly before looking back at the little girl.

She scanned the QR code, twice for five yuan each.

“All done,” she said.

“Thank you, big sister,” the girl beamed.

Lin Ting smiled and stood up, clutching the roses.

“How much for the garlands?” Shang Moting’s voice came from the side.

Lin Ting turned her head.

The little girl looked up briefly, then swiftly hid behind her mother’s legs, too shy to come out.

The woman also stared at Shang Moting, momentarily frozen.

Lin Ting noticed the woman’s gaze—a mix of admiration for Shang Moting’s looks and a hint of fear for his aura.

“Garlands are five yuan each,” the woman said, taking one off her arm. “Please choose.”

Shang Moting picked a garland made entirely of roses and scanned the QR code.

The little girl peeked out once more from behind her mother.

Shang Moting lowered his eyes to look at her.

The girl quickly ducked away again.

Lin Ting chuckled softly.

The woman apologized, “Sorry, she’s a bit shy.”

“No worries. Being shy isn’t bad—it means she’s wary of strangers,” Lin Ting said.

The woman nodded and left with the girl.

Lin Ting watched them go, the little girl happily skipping as her mother led her away.

“Big sister is so pretty. When I grow up, I want to be as beautiful as you,” the girl said.

“Alright,” her mother responded.

“The big brother is handsome, too, but I’m a little scared,” the girl added.

Her mother said something else, and the girl seemed even happier.

Watching them, Lin Ting suddenly felt a weight on her head.

She raised a hand to touch it.

Shang Moting had placed the flower garland on her head.

She turned slightly and saw him adjusting it.

Lin Ting looked at him and, once he finished, asked, “Does it look good?”

Shang Moting gazed at her—radiant, bright, and passionate.

He said nothing but tucked her hair behind her ear.

Lin Ting smiled softly and looked down at the roses in her hand.

Shang Moting glanced at the flowers as well.

Someone passed by and, after walking a short distance, said, “I heard most kids selling things like this are trafficked children. Human traffickers are always nearby watching.”

Lin Ting turned to the two passersby, paused, then looked at Shang Moting. “Could it be true?”

“Selling so cheaply—do you think traffickers have a conscience and honestly repent? They’d rather starve themselves,” Shang Moting said.

“This is clearly a parent out here with her child,” Lin Ting looked at the flowers and raised her hand to tuck a rose behind Shang Moting’s ear. “And if she were trafficked, such a beautiful girl wouldn’t be sent out to sell flowers on the street.”

Shang Moting caught her hand just in time.

He sensed the deeper meaning in her words.

Lin Ting’s attempt was foiled; she lowered her hand and said, “Hmph, no fun.”

Shang Moting chuckled lightly, adjusted the roses on the garland, and asked, “Where to next?”

Lin Ting looked up at him, hesitated, then said, “Wherever you take me, I’ll go.”

Shang Moting glanced at her, then at a car parked not far away.

Wei Zhishu was waiting nearby. Receiving a signal, he immediately drove the car over.

Lin Ting and Shang Moting got into the back seat.

Wei Zhishu started the engine.

Shang Moting asked again, “Where to?”

Lin Ting sighed softly and said, “The Lin family.”

She gave the address.

Wei Zhishu set the navigation and drove toward the Lin residence.