After returning home, Bai Cheng placed the Bible on her desk but had no intention of reading it. Instead, she crawled back into bed. She remembered Luo Tian’s suggestion about listening to the sound of rain to help her sleep. Finding a playlist of rain sounds, she put it on and gradually drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.
It was the best sleep she had had in a long time, but when she woke up, she found herself missing Lu Heng even more.
As usual, Bai Cheng continued to follow the news. A few weeks later, she was pleasantly surprised to see a report that the child trafficking case had been solved. The kidnapped child had been rescued, and the traffickers were arrested. Just as she was feeling happy, her phone rang.
“Miss Bai, it’s Luo Tian.”
“Hello, Captain Luo.”
“Miss Bai, I have some news to share with you. Are you free to meet? I’m at the lake park near your neighborhood. We found the kidnapped child.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Bai Cheng walked into the park and immediately spotted Luo Tian in his police uniform, sitting in the pavilion, speaking into his phone. Just a few steps away from him, sitting on the ground, was the child everyone thought was mute. The boy was playing with something on the ground, looking content. Bai Cheng walked over and sat beside Luo Tian, noticing that the boy was playing with a toy train, happily absorbed in it.
“How did you find him?” Bai Cheng asked as she sat down.
Luo Tian tilted his head toward Bai Cheng and replied, “Just like you suggested. We had people disguise themselves as street vendors, playing Farewell over loudspeakers as they walked through suspicious areas. The boy started singing along while leaning out of a window, and we used satellite systems to pinpoint the trafficker’s location. By the time we broke in, they hadn’t had time to relocate. There was only the woman trafficker in the house. The other trafficker had gone out to buy food, and we caught him when he returned.”
“Thank goodness, everything went smoothly—no injuries or… casualties,” Luo Tian added.
“Yeah, we were lucky. The traffickers assumed the boy was mute and didn’t bother to gag him. They didn’t even tie his hands or feet, so we were able to rescue him in time. By the time they realized something was wrong, we were already at their door.”
Before Bai Cheng could respond, the familiar tune of the 4 p.m. dismissal bell from the kindergarten echoed across the park. The boy, who had been quietly playing with his train, suddenly began singing along in a clear, bright voice: “Outside the long pavilion, by the ancient road, the green grass stretches far and wide…”
His voice was even clearer and louder than the previous times Bai Cheng had heard him.
Luo Tian continued, “When we rescued him, he was singing the same song. This kid doesn’t respond to people, but he sure belts out songs loud and clear. Thanks to him, we not only caught the traffickers but also traced them back to another hideout. We’ve almost wiped out the entire ring and rescued the other children they’d kidnapped. Unfortunately, one of the minor ringleaders managed to escape.”
The boy, sitting at their feet, continued singing until the broadcast ended. Then, he quietly returned to playing with his train.
Luo Tian watched the boy intently and said, “We’ve contacted his parents. They said they’ll return next month to take care of him and enroll him in school. He won’t have to watch other kids playing on the playground anymore—he’ll be able to play in the kindergarten himself, and he’ll finally get to take music classes.”
“That’s great,” Bai Cheng said, watching the boy. “No one will call him the mute boy raised by a mute grandfather anymore.”
Luo Tian crouched down and gently patted the boy’s head as he played with his train. “He’s a lucky kid,” he said.
Bai Cheng smiled softly.
Hearing her laugh, Luo Tian turned his head and saw her smiling. Her expression was calm, with a slight upward curve at the corners of her lips.
Luo Tian’s gaze lingered on her face for a few moments before he turned his attention back to the scenery. “You should smile more, Miss Bai,” he said.
Bai Cheng didn’t reply. She closed her eyes, quietly enjoying the breeze blowing from all directions.
Luo Tian looked at her again. This was the first time he had been so close to her. Bai Cheng’s face was pale and thin, her nose prominent, her lips neither too big nor too small, and her long eyelashes accentuated her delicate, well-proportioned features. At that moment, her breathing was slow and steady, like a gentle breeze.
After hesitating for a moment, Luo Tian finally spoke again. “One of the traffickers has been cooperating in exchange for a reduced sentence. He’s given us a lot of information. He mentioned that they’ve had dealings with Muddy Eel.”
Muddy Eel!
Bai Cheng’s eyes snapped open, and she turned sharply to look at Luo Tian. Her gaze was filled with anger, hatred, and sorrow, tears welling up in her eyes.
Luo Tian continued, “The trafficker said that their leader, Brother Ji, was one of Muddy Eel’s subordinates. After we disrupted Muddy Eel’s drug deal in the park, many of his operations were dismantled. That’s why he became desperate and tried to have a woman smuggle a child for him. Unfortunately, their leader escaped with the help of his associates, but we’re tracking Muddy Eel’s whereabouts based on the new intel.”
“It’s him again,” Bai Cheng muttered.
“Yeah, they call him Muddy Eel for a reason—he’s slippery and hard to catch, always escaping at the last moment. But as the saying goes, wherever he goes, he’ll leave traces behind. Given enough time, we’ll bring him to justice.”
Bai Cheng wiped away her tears and nodded.
The boy, who had been playing at their feet, suddenly stopped. He stood up, clutching his train, and stared silently at Luo Tian.
Luo Tian bent down and squeezed the boy’s shoulder. Meeting his gaze, he asked, “Are you ready to go home?”
The boy nodded.
“Do you know the way?” Luo Tian asked again.
The boy nodded firmly.
Luo Tian waved his hand. “Off you go. Head straight home and don’t wander around. Don’t talk to strangers, alright?”
The boy nodded vigorously, then turned and walked away confidently.
Luo Tian put his police hat back on and turned to Bai Cheng. “Miss Bai, how about I walk you home as well?”
Bai Cheng nodded, and the two walked side by side toward her apartment.
“Oh, by the way, Captain Luo,” Bai Cheng said, “thanks for suggesting the rain sounds. My sleep has improved a bit recently.”
“Really? That’s great. As long as it helps,” Luo Tian replied.
“Yeah.”
“So, Miss Bai, will you be coming to church again this Sunday for another nap?” Luo Tian teased with a laugh.
Bai Cheng found the suggestion amusing and smiled faintly. “I’m not sure. Maybe I won’t go this time.”
“Alright.”
They walked together for a while longer until they reached Bai Cheng’s apartment building. Luo Tian watched as she entered, then turned and headed back home himself.
