Facing his dad’s nagging, which could rival Tang Seng’s, Gu Chen felt utterly terrible.
He could only let it go in one ear and out the other; otherwise, he’d be annoyed to death on the spot.
“Dad, I get it. Can you take a break?”
Finally unable to take it anymore, Gu Chen stopped him with a wry face.
If this went on, his body might recover, but his mind would definitely end up broken.
“What? You won’t even listen to a few words from your dad? You’re a girl now. Girls should have a girl’s image. You can’t keep getting into fights at the drop of a hat like a boy and causing trouble all day, you know?”
Dad kept a stern face.
After all, this time had truly gotten out of hand.
What parent wouldn’t want to avoid living in constant fear, let alone when their own child had been hurt so badly?
“How could that be? I’m listening.”
Gu Chen knew he was in the wrong and didn’t dare say anything more.
A bright idea struck him, and he immediately seized the opportunity to change the subject.
“By the way, Dad, let me ask you something. We used to live on Willow Street when I was little, right? You should know that area pretty well, right?”
“Yeah, why did you suddenly bring that up?”
Dad nodded, clearly reluctant to touch on the past, and frowned.
“Nothing, just… a friend of mine wanted to ask. She has a relative who lived on Willow Street as a child. Later, when the demolition happened, everyone went their separate ways. She hasn’t been able to find them and doesn’t know how to get in touch. She thought that since you’d lived there for a long time, you might have some impression.”
Gu Chen thought it over and didn’t directly reveal Hoshino Airi’s identity.
The main reason was that at home, the thing he watched most was Anti-Japanese Drama, so he was afraid of prejudice against people from the Island Country.
When they had parted last time, Gu Chen and Hoshino Airi added each other as friends, making it convenient to let her know if any clues came up later.
She had even specially registered for an app just to come here.
“Oh? A relative? What’s the name?”
Dad didn’t have any particular reaction and continued asking.
“That’s the thing, we don’t know. Otherwise, we’d have clues by now. There’s only a photo so far. Do you want to take a look?”
Gu Chen smiled wryly.
‘If they had a name, he wouldn’t need his help at all.’
Fortunately, the photo was saved, right in his phone.
He pulled it up and handed it to Dad.
“This photo…”
The moment Dad saw it, his expression changed.
After a long silence, he said seriously, “You little brat, are you messing with me? It’s so blurry, I can’t see a damn thing!!”
“Uh, can’t help it. The quality is just like this.”
Gu Chen had expected this result, since he also thought the image quality was too blurry.
It must be that the photo was too old. Phone pixels from nearly twenty years ago were not on the same level as today’s.
It was blurry when originally taken, and this was probably a re-shoot after being printed.
So the entire photo could only show the person’s outline and clothing, indicating it was a two or three-year-old child, without even being able to tell boy from girl…
“Alright, but you know, Xiao Chen, I do feel this looks a little like you when you were little.”
Dad examined it more carefully and clicked his tongue twice.
“Me?”
Gu Chen pointed at himself, speechless.
‘What a joke. Hoshino Airi came here to find her older brother. Unless Dad had an affair with an Island Country girl back then and had a daughter?’
At that thought, he actually asked, as if possessed, “If it really were me, Dad, wouldn’t that mean you cheated on your marriage back then?”
“Hey!!!”
“You little brat, what nonsense are you talking about? Believe it or not, I’ll hit you!”
Dad exploded on the spot, practically fuming.
Clearly, he probably hadn’t done anything so outrageous.
Then it must have been someone else.
“Cough, cough. I was just saying that casually. If there’s no clue, forget it. I was just asking on behalf of a friend.”
Gu Chen shrank his neck and didn’t dare ask further.
He reached out to take his phone back.
But at that moment, Dad noticed something and pointed at the photo.
“The thing hanging around this child’s neck should be a Longevity Lock. Judging by the style, it was made by Blacksmith Li. It really seems to be a child from Willow Street back then.”
Although it was blurry, he could still vaguely make it out.
“Who is Blacksmith Li?”
“An old neighbor. He lived there too back then, specializing in making and selling copperware. He was a craftsman. Essentially, anyone in our neighborhood who had a child would have him make one. I remember when you turned one, you also had a similar one made. But it disappeared long ago.”
Dad explained slowly.
He seemed to still yearn for those days back then.
At that time, the neighbors were all harmonious and close, but in the end, they couldn’t withstand the currents of the era.
“You don’t need to tell me that. That’s not much of a clue, is it?”
Gu Chen really didn’t remember these things, but since every child around had one made, he might as well go check the kindergarten.
“I wasn’t finished. Although every child had one made, to distinguish them, the Longevity Lock would have the owner’s birth date number engraved on it. As long as you know the birth date and check the household registration, won’t you know who it is?”
Dad rolled his eyes before revealing this.
“I see…”
Gu Chen suddenly understood. Unfortunately, the photo was blurry even for the facial features, let alone the birth date number engraved on the Longevity Lock.
Although he himself didn’t know it, perhaps Hoshino Airi did, or they could go inquire around.
It was still a decent lead.
After chatting for a while longer, it was already late.
Gu Chen told Dad to just go home and rest, so as not to delay his grand career.
He himself was fine anyway.
If it weren’t for the fear of the Homeroom Teacher complaining, he would have wanted to go back with him.
The smell of disinfectant in the Special Care Ward was truly unpleasant, making him uncomfortable.
He had called Dad over just to conceal his gender, afraid of more people finding out.
Dad stood up grumpily.
If the test results hadn’t already come out, he really wouldn’t have been at ease leaving.
After giving a few more words of advice, he finally left.
The room finally quieted down.
Gu Chen leaned against the headboard and stretched.
He had expended too much energy, and he felt drowsy all over.
But he still forced himself to stay alert, planning to contact Hoshino Airi, wondering if she had gone to bed yet.
He had originally just wanted to casually change the subject, but unexpectedly, Dad had actually provided some solid information.
He couldn’t waste it.
—
Meanwhile, Hoshino Airi was lying on the big hotel bed.
Judging by her appearance, she had probably just taken a shower, her little face flushed pink.
She had already asked around at nearby kindergartens these past two days, but there was still no clue, though she hadn’t held much hope.
Tired after a long day, she could only go back to the hotel to rest.
In the room, the air conditioner whirred, set to the lowest temperature.
Hoshino Airi, covered in a white quilt and leaning against the headboard, was staring intently at her phone screen.
An anime was playing on the screen, accompanied by pleasant background music.
【We can’t go on like this anymore. What if we end up with a child?】
【If we do, just get an abortion!】
In the scene, the male and female leads were gazing at each other with intense emotions.
The classic Japanese anime, Yosuga no Sora, was playing…
Hoshino Airi watched in silence with an almost fascinated gaze, her flushed little face becoming even more alluring at this moment, accompanied by slightly quickened…