Gu Chen felt terrible facing her dad’s nagging, which was comparable to Tang Sanzang’s.
She could only try to let it go in one ear and out the other; otherwise, she would 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 bitter face.
‘If this continues, my body might recover, but my damn mental health will surely collapse.’
“What? You aren’t even willing to listen to your dad say two words to you? You’re a girl now. A girl should have a girl’s image. You can’t keep acting like a boy, picking fights and causing trouble whenever you feel like it, understand?”
Dad’s face remained stern.
After all, things had really gone too far this time.
No parent would want to live in fear every day, especially since their child had suffered such a serious injury.
“How could I? I’m listening.”
Gu Chen knew she was in the wrong and didn’t dare say much.
With a flash of inspiration, she immediately found an opportunity to change the subject.
“By the way, Dad, I wanted to ask you something. Didn’t we live on Willow Street when I was little? You should know a lot about the situation over there, right?”
“Hmm, why did you suddenly bring that up?”
Dad nodded, clearly not wanting to mention past events, and frowned.
“It’s nothing, just… a friend of mine wanted to ask. She has a relative who lived on Willow Street when they were young. Everyone got separated after the demolition, right? So she hasn’t found anyone and doesn’t have their contact information. I thought that since you lived there for so long, Dad, you might remember something.”
Gu Chen thought about it but didn’t directly mention Hoshino Airi’s identity.
The main reason was that her dad usually watched anti-Japanese dramas at home, and she was afraid he might have prejudices against people from the Island Country.
When she left last time, Gu Chen had added Hoshino Airi as a friend so she could tell her if she found any clues later.
The girl had even specially registered for the app just to come here.
“Oh? A relative? What’s the name?”
Dad didn’t have any particular reaction and continued to ask.
“That’s the thing, I don’t know. Otherwise, we would’ve had clues long ago. Right now, there’s only one photo. Do you want to take a look?”
Gu Chen gave a bitter smile.
If they had a name, she wouldn’t even need his help.
Fortunately, the photo was saved on her phone.
She scrolled through it and handed it to her dad.
“This photo…”
The moment Dad saw it, his expression changed.
After a long silence, he said seriously, “You brat, are you freaking playing with me? It’s so blurry, who the hell could see anything?!”
“Uh, there’s no way around it. The image quality is just like that.”
Gu Chen had guessed this would happen.
After all, she also felt the image quality was too blurry.
It must be because the photo was too old.
The phone camera resolution from nearly 20 years ago was not on the same level as today’s.
The original shot was already blurry, and this was likely a photo taken of a physical print.
Therefore, the entire photo only showed the character’s silhouette and outfit.
One could tell it was a child around 2 or 3 years old, but it was impossible to distinguish between a boy or a girl.
“Well, however, Chen, I do feel like this kid looks a bit like you when you were little.”
Dad looked at it carefully again and clicked his tongue.
“Me?”
Gu Chen pointed at herself, looking speechless.
‘Is he joking? Hoshino Airi is here to look for her brother. Unless Dad had an affair with a girl from the Island Country back then and had a daughter?’
Thinking of this, she actually asked as if possessed, “If it’s really me, Dad, didn’t you cheat on Mom back then?”
“Hey!!!”
“You brat, what nonsense are you talking about? Believe it or not, I’ll hit you!”
Dad exploded on the spot, fuming with anger.
Clearly, he hadn’t done such an outrageous thing; someone else must have.
“Cough, I was just saying. If there are no clues, then forget it. I was just asking for a friend.”
Gu Chen shrunk her neck, not daring to ask further.
She reached out to take her phone back.
But at that moment, Dad discovered something and pointed at the photo.
“The thing hanging around this child’s neck should be a long-life lock. Looking at the style, it was made by Li the Coppersmith. It seems this really is a child from Willow Street.”
Even though it was blurry, he could still vaguely make it out.
“Who is Li the Coppersmith?”
“An old neighbor. He lived there back then and specialized in making copperware to sell. He was a craftsman. Basically, every family in the neighborhood with a child would go to him to have one made. I remember when you were 1, we had a similar one made. But it’s been gone for a long time,” Dad explained slowly.
It seemed he still had some longing for the life back then.
At that time, the neighbors were very harmonious and had good relationships, but they ultimately couldn’t withstand the torrent of the times.
“You don’t need to tell me that. That’s not much of a clue, is it?”
Gu Chen really didn’t remember those things.
But since all the children in the neighborhood had them made, it would be better to check the kindergartens.
“I wasn’t finished. Although every child had one made, a personal birth ID would be engraved on the long-life lock to tell them apart. As long as you know the birth date and check the household registration office, won’t you know who it is?” Dad rolled his eyes before finally saying it.
“So that’s how it is…”
Gu Chen suddenly understood.
However, even the appearance in the photo was blurry, let alone the birthday numbers engraved on the long-life lock.
While she didn’t know the date, maybe Hoshino Airi did, or she could go and ask around.
It was a pretty good clue.
After chatting for a while longer, it was already getting late.
Gu Chen told her dad to go home and rest directly and not to delay his grand career.
She was fine anyway.
If she weren’t afraid the Homeroom Teacher would complain, she would have wanted to go back with him.
The smell of disinfectant in the VIP ward was really unpleasant and uncomfortable.
Having him come over was only to hide her gender, fearing more people would find out.
Dad stood up irritably.
If the test results hadn’t already come out, he really wouldn’t have felt comfortable leaving.
After a few reminders, he finally left.
The room finally became quiet.
Gu Chen leaned against the headboard and stretched.
Her physical strength had been drained too much, and she felt drowsy.
But she still forced herself to perk up, preparing to contact Hoshino Airi.
She didn’t know if the girl was asleep yet.
She had originally just wanted to change the subject, but she didn’t expect her dad to actually give her some solid information.
She couldn’t let it go to waste.
***
At the same time, Hoshino Airi was lying on a large hotel bed.
It looked like she had just taken a shower; her small face was flushed.
She had been asking around nearby kindergartens for the past 2 days, but there were still no clues, though she hadn’t held much hope to begin with.
After a tiring day, she could only return to the hotel to rest.
In the room, the air conditioner hummed, set to the lowest temperature.
Hoshino Airi was covered with a white quilt, leaning against the headboard, staring intently at her phone screen.
An anime was playing, accompanied by pleasant background music.
“We can’t go on like this. What should we do if we have a child?”
“If we have a child, we’ll just get an abortion!”
On the screen, the Male Lead and Female Lead looked at each other excitedly.
A classic Japanese anime, *Yosuga no Sora*, was playing…
Hoshino Airi watched quietly with an almost obsessed look.
Her flushed face was even more alluring now, accompanied by slight shortness of breath…