Chapter 24: A Troubling Case and a Guilty Conscience

“I don’t have the financial means,” Wang Jian stammered, “and besides, I’m only in my twenties. I haven’t even gotten married. I… I currently have no intention of adopting a child.”

He truly had no plans to adopt a child at present. A young man in his twenties, burdened with a child, would likely struggle to find a wife in the future, and his current girlfriend might even break up with him.

“Exactly,” Captain Yan continued. “You won’t adopt either. Look, finding an adoptive family for that child is practically impossible. I’m telling you this for your own good. Serve a few more years as a police officer, and you’ll understand that not every situation can be resolved perfectly.”

“So…” Captain Yan trailed off, leaving the implication hanging in the air. Wang Jian clearly understood that his captain was telling him not to get too involved with the child.

“Think it over carefully yourself.” Captain Yan rose from the sofa. Holding his mug, he patted Wang Jian’s shoulder with his free hand, then opened the lounge door and left.

Wang Jian felt a wave of frustration. He pulled the pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his police uniform, took one out, and placed it between his lips. Only then did he remember he had no lighter, so with a sigh of dejection, he put the cigarette back into the pack.

Feeling deflated, he sank onto the sofa and ran a hand through his hair.

At his current age, it was impossible for him to devote the energy and finances required to raise a child. Moreover, he had no desire to raise one. He wasn’t even married; becoming a father now was out of the question. Even if he agreed, his family would never approve, so adopting Tang Xiao was simply not an option for him.

Finding an adoptive family willing to take in Tang Xiao, where her household registration could be transferred, would be the best possible outcome.

But the crucial question was where to find an adoptive family willing to take a child. It was virtually impossible, after all; who would willingly raise a ‘wild child’ with whom they shared no blood relation?

‘Am I truly left with no other option besides…’ Wang Jian couldn’t help but recall the method Captain Yan had mentioned. He could indeed do that, and there would be no repercussions.

‘But that would be too cold-blooded! How could I, a police officer, do something so heartless?!’ Wang Jian’s conscience gnawed at him. As a police officer, he held strong moral values, and he simply couldn’t overcome the hurdle of his own guilt.

‘But what should I do with this child? How did I end up with such a troublesome case? Ugh.’

‘This child may be pitiful, but there are countless pitiful people in the world. She’s no relation to me, so why should I get so involved? Besides, the child seems to be doing fine on her own. Why should I interfere?’ Wang Jian used these arguments to convince himself internally. Finally, he steeled his resolve, ultimately overcoming the pangs of his conscience.

‘First, I’ll call the child out of the office and have her wait in the main hall. As Captain Yan said, if no one pays attention to her, she’ll eventually leave on her own. I hope that’s how it works.’ Wang Jian rose from the sofa, thinking silently to himself.

He walked down the corridor, step by step, towards his office, a torrent of conflicting thoughts surging through his mind.

‘She’s no relation to me, so why should I care so much about her?’

‘She’s doing fine living outside anyway; she can be as wild as she wants.’

‘Even if that child dies, it’ll have absolutely nothing to do with me. Why should I bother?’

Hypnotizing himself with these callous words, Wang Jian reached his office door. He closed his eyes, rehearsing various ways to coax the child away. Then, with a resolute glint in his eyes, he pushed the door open.

The moment he opened the door and saw those large, bright, clear eyes, laced with a hint of subtle emotion, the words Wang Jian had prepared became lodged in his throat, utterly unspeakable.

“Police Uncle, you’re back!” Hao Yang asked, her eyes sparkling with a trace of excitement. “Did that Police Grandpa find my mom?” She had just shown him the photo, and she guessed the police would run it through their network. Perhaps they had already found the little girl’s mother.

“Ah, we haven’t found your mom yet. We’ll tell you when we do,” Wang Jian said, his voice carrying a hint of panic. He didn’t know why, but speaking to this little girl filled him with a strange sense of guilt.

“Oh, okay.” Hao Yang’s tone was clearly tinged with disappointment.

Wang Jian stood to the side, taking a moment to compose himself. Then, he resolved to get the words out in one breath.

“Tang… Tang Xiao, little one.” His voice remained unconsciously tense.

“Police Uncle, is something wrong?” Hao Yang asked, gazing at Wang Jian with her bright, clean eyes, a hint of confusion in her expression.

“I…” For some reason, looking into those clean, bright eyes, his sense of guilt deepened further. The guilt rendered him speechless; the words he had rehearsed countless times in his mind suddenly wouldn’t come out.

He had never experienced such a profound sense of guilt before. This child had no relation to him whatsoever, yet he felt guilty because of her.

“Police Uncle has a lot of busy work to do. Could you please go out first and not disturb Police Uncle while he’s working, okay?”

“Ah, I…” Before Hao Yang could finish, she was cut off.

“Police Uncle is really busy right now! Please don’t bother me, okay? Can you just go out, okay?!” Wang Jian spoke with a surge of emotion, his voice growing agitated.

“Oh.” Hao Yang uttered a weak ‘oh’, then turned and walked out.

Just as Wang Jian let out a breath of relief, the office door opened again. Hao Yang stood in the doorway.

“What is it now? Please don’t bother Uncle, okay? Uncle is really busy right now!” Agitated, he yelled it out directly.

“I just came to get something; I’ll leave right away,” Hao Yang replied. She carefully walked over to Wang Jian, picked up her backpack, and then quickly scurried out of the office. Immediately, only the rhythmic tapping of a computer keyboard remained in the office.

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