Chapter 54

“Director Gao, this is the information sheet you requested.”

The secretary handed over the document with both hands, bowed slightly, and turned to leave the office.

After observing for a while, Gao Wenlan’s doubts grew stronger in her heart.

She mustered her courage and, after several years, faced the nightmare that had haunted her once again.

“Bai Yuqiao…” Gao Wenlan skipped the first few pages, frowning as she quickly flipped through until she stopped at the page she wanted to check. “1992… Heyan City…”

She looked over the simple personnel information page more than ten times.

Finally, she closed the folder, set it down gently, and sighed in disappointment.

“Heyan.”

That afternoon, Gao Wenlan unhesitatingly canceled a board meeting and went alone to the emergency contact address listed for Bai Yuqiao.

Ding dong.

“Hey, coming—”

Hearing the response from inside the door, Gao Wenlan, who rarely felt nervous, slowly exhaled and adjusted her racing heartbeat.

When the door opened, she hurriedly removed her sunglasses and smiled.

“Hello, are you Bai Yuqiao’s mother?”

It was a large studio apartment rental. Bai Xiaochu, dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, squatted on the floor filling out shipping labels, her forehead dotted with fine beads of sweat.

To her right towered a mountain of items waiting to be shipped, taller than she was.

The floor was littered with scraps of paper, transparent tape, plastic wrap…

At that moment, her phone, buried in the pile of clutter, rang on the tile floor.

Bai Xiaochu twisted her head to look amid her busyness. It was an unfamiliar number from Beijing.

The meeting place Gao Wenlan had arranged was in central Yiwu, at a hotel restaurant on the second floor.

At nine in the evening, Bai Xiaochu got out of the taxi as agreed, only to spot a woman standing tall and straight outside the resplendent entrance amid the row of parked vehicles.

…Bang.

Bai Xiaochu hesitated as she closed the car door, feeling that the woman had locked onto her from afar among the vehicles.

They locked eyes across the distance for less than two seconds before the woman hurried toward her.

After they sat down in a corner of the restaurant, Gao Wenlan introduced herself to Bai Xiaochu again, her attitude mild and courteous. However, neither on the phone nor so far had she stated her purpose.

She only said she wanted to chat about Bai Yuqiao.

Bai Xiaochu had met all sorts of people over the years.

Though she could see the undercurrents beneath the woman’s calm demeanor and sense that she was no ordinary person, Bai Xiaochu maintained a poised smile until Gao Wenlan stopped speaking.

Of course.

Ever since the woman mentioned “Bai Yuqiao” on the phone, and given that her apparent age matched Bai Xiaochu’s prior estimates.

She could roughly guess what it was about.

Over the years, Bai Xiaochu had occasionally imagined this day: Yuqiao’s biological mother showing up, suddenly wanting to reclaim the daughter she had abandoned years ago.

She had seriously considered that if Yuqiao ever wanted to find her birth family, she would respect her wishes, even help out—as long as Yuqiao was happy, she would be happy.

But all that was premised on Bai Yuqiao wanting it herself…

Perhaps those years were so hard for you that you had no choice but to give up the child.

Bai Xiaochu smiled faintly at Gao Wenlan across from her. Before Gao Wenlan could broach the topic of Bai Yuqiao, she thought silently to herself, but abandoning her because she was sick—you really don’t deserve her—

“…My daughter’s name is Gao Huiyan, born September 5, 1991.”

Gao Wenlan suddenly said, “When she was stolen, she was wearing a longevity lock engraved with her birthdate.”

Stolen?

A flicker of astonishment crossed Bai Xiaochu’s face.

“These years, I’ve been searching for her nonstop, but back then there were no cameras, and no one saw anything. I searched countless cities—like finding a needle in a haystack.”

In Bai Xiaochu’s silence, Gao Wenlan’s eyes reddened, her hands trembling on the table as she clasped them tightly.

“I searched for her for over twenty years. I… I’m so sorry. These twenty-plus years have completely worn away my hope. I admit I’ve given up. These past few years, I couldn’t keep pushing like before, couldn’t keep fooling myself. I… I selfishly pronounced my daughter dead in my heart.”

Bai Xiaochu sighed. Her right hand clenched for a second before she reached out and covered the back of Gao Wenlan’s hand.

She felt deeply moved, but she still needed to stay rational for Bai Yuqiao’s sake. “So, how did you identify Yuqiao… by her birthday? Sorry, this might hurt you, but I need evidence.”

Gao Wenlan glanced at Bai Xiaochu and shook her head, but she smiled happily.

“It seems Yanyan has had a good life with you all these years.” She paused before continuing, “Sorry, I have no evidence. It’s just a feeling, a feeling unlike any I’ve had before—not even when people showed up claiming to have my child in the past.”

“A feeling.”

Bai Xiaochu didn’t release the hand comforting her, but she lowered her gaze, frowning as she mulled over the word.

A brief silence settled over the table.

“How about this.” Bai Xiaochu thought for a moment and spoke first. Their eyes met, and seeing the tears in the woman’s eyes, she paused but pressed on. “I completely understand the pain of losing a child. If you truly are Yuqiao’s birth mother, I’d be happy for you—and for Yuqiao.”

“But.”

She withdrew her hand and cradled her glass. “Everything is just your feeling, your guess. I think you came to me first because you’ve considered that.”

Gao Wenlan listened to Bai Xiaochu’s words without interrupting.

She recalled her observations of Yanyan… or rather, Bai Yuqiao, in the lab group these days. Bai Yuqiao was a child who couldn’t speak but worked diligently with extremely stable emotions.

Most new students joining the company experiments got discouraged by seniors’ criticisms.

Some even quit.

But not Bai Yuqiao.

She absorbed good advice from criticisms, reasonably questioned issues, and actively verified them…

Two months of observation convinced Gao Wenlan that Bai Yuqiao had at least grown up in a very happy family.

And now, hearing Bai Xiaochu’s earnest analysis, she felt even more certain of her suspicions.

Amid the misfortune, Yanyan had met a good mother.

“Mom’s coming next Tuesday?”

Bai Kou looked up from her phone in shock at Bai Yuqiao across from her. “Here? To Beijing?”

Bai Yuqiao nodded with a smile. Seeing Bai Kou slap her phone down and prop her chin thoughtfully—“So sudden… Is something wrong…”

【No.】 Bai Yuqiao waved her hand. 【Don’t worry.】

【She’s here for a checkup.】

“A checkup?” Bai Kou was even more surprised. She stood from her seat, circled the table to Bai Yuqiao’s side, and squeezed in next to her. “What checkup?”

Bai Yuqiao reached for her phone.

Bai Kou tugged at her sister’s arm, frowning tightly as she peered over.

【Industry association’s welfare physical exam.】

Bai Kou’s heart had been in her throat, but after reading that, she let out an “Oh” and relaxed. “A physical? You scared me.”

She had just released Bai Yuqiao’s arm when she seemed to remember something and hugged on. “Wait, sis, think about it—this doesn’t add up. Can’t they do the physical at their local hospital? What association is this generous, flying them to Beijing? Could it be a scam?”

As Bai Kou spoke, she was practically plastered to Bai Yuqiao.

Bai Yuqiao subtly tried to pull her arm free but couldn’t, so she just shifted her waist and legs a bit farther.

Her lips tightened unconsciously, her whole body tense to hold the position as she stiffly typed: 【Not a scam. Blue Seal Pharmaceuticals is one of the sponsors.】

Once Bai Kou finished reading, she pulled up the chat history screenshots, zoomed in on the association name at the end, and the official seals.

She remembered how last time Bai Kou demanded her offer letter and insisted on seeing the “official seals.”

Bai Kou quickly raised her hand, her fingertip poking Bai Yuqiao’s still on the screen, nudging it away.

She zoomed the image to maximum herself.

Sure enough, she saw “Blue Seal Pharmaceuticals.”

“Oh… The world really is connected by six degrees of separation…” she sighed.

She turned and saw her sister blinking, seemingly puzzled by her wording.

Bai Kou laughed. “Qiu Miaoran told me about it. It’s supposedly a 20th-century psychology theory that says we can connect to any stranger through at most six people.”

“Like her—” Bai Kou pointed toward the door. “Through me—” she pointed to herself. “To know you.” She tapped Bai Yuqiao’s middle finger knuckle.

Bai Yuqiao smiled immediately after hearing that.

Since she was already scooted over, Bai Kou didn’t bother going back to her seat. She propped herself up to grab her own phone, typing as she spoke. “But it’s too bad—Mom’s coming Tuesday, and we have the monthly quiz that day, so we can’t keep her company…”

As she typed, Bai Kou dejectedly nestled her cheek against Bai Yuqiao’s arm. “Sigh, sis, this welfare physical probably won’t keep them long, right? Gone by Wednesday at latest?”

Her tone sounded so disappointed. Bai Yuqiao turned to see her expression, but her chin got tickled by the stray hairs sticking up from Bai Kou’s head.

She froze for a moment.

The next second, oblivious to her sister’s stiffness, Bai Kou wrapped her arms around Bai Yuqiao’s arm and pinched her index finger between both hands.

She pressed it in and out. “Sis, I really wanna see Mom…” Her voice turned whiny and coquettish.

At that moment, Bai Yuqiao’s heart thudded dully, like foam boards shattered and floating on the sea.

Bai Kou’s fingertips easily pressed it underwater, soaking it in briny dampness, then released it to bob back up, giving it a moment’s breath as if afraid it would die.

Bai Yuqiao couldn’t take it anymore. Like an electric shock, she yanked her hand free and raised it high.

Bai Kou let out a quick “Hm?” Her cheek left Bai Yuqiao’s arm as she turned. “Ah, did I press too hard? Hurt you?”

Bai Yuqiao pressed her lips together, clenched her fist, then barely managed a smile and shook her head.

Tuesday.

Bai Yuqiao didn’t need to go to the lab. She arrived at the airport early that morning to wait for Bai Xiaochu and the group.

Just before nine, Bai Xiaochu appeared amid a lively crowd pulling suitcases, everyone chattering like they were on vacation.

They boarded the shuttle bus sent by the private hospital.

Bai Xiaochu pulled Bai Yuqiao to sit up front. She knew her daughter had feared these buses since childhood.

The smallest time, probably still only around sixth grade, she had taken Bai Yuqiao and Bai Kou on a bus to the mountains for fun.

Bai Yuqiao turned pale the moment she got on and nearly passed out on her lap, her little hand clutching hers tightly.

They said people outgrew motion sickness as they aged, even lost it entirely.

Bai Kou had gotten carsick as a kid but was fine by her early teens. Only Yuqiao…

Bai Xiaochu still held Bai Yuqiao’s hand now, gazing at her daughter’s serene profile. Suddenly, she wondered: For an infant not even a year old, traveling from north to south—could that bus ride have left a shadow without her even knowing?

How were you stolen? How did you end up thousands of miles away in Heyan? How were you abandoned by the trafficker?

Did it discover you were sick and untreatable?

…

If your real name was truly Gao Huiyan, and now you could never speak again.

“Sigh.” Bai Xiaochu gazed at the bus windshield ahead and couldn’t help sighing.

Bai Yuqiao noticed Bai Xiaochu’s distraction the whole way but assumed she was nervous about the physical. She silently squeezed back harder, gripping her hand tighter.

“…”

The first item at the hospital was a routine blood test.

Bai Yuqiao’s arm was gripped tightly by Bai Xiaochu. Her mom had turned into Bai Kou, looking terrified and needy as she said, “Yuqiao, I can’t do it! I feel like I’ll faint at the sight of blood! You’re already here anyway! Come in with me! Get a tube drawn too!”

It sounded just like… This rice is good, have a bowl yourself.

Bai Yuqiao couldn’t help thinking.

But she couldn’t resist Bai Xiaochu’s insistence—of course, it only took a few seconds before she nodded in agreement.

The mother and daughter sat in the blood draw room.

As she extended her arm, Bai Yuqiao turned to reassure Bai Xiaochu “Don’t be nervous” but caught her nodding slightly toward the blood station inside.

In her puzzlement, a cool sensation spread across her skin.

“Don’t be nervous. Don’t be scared.”

The person drawing her blood suddenly spoke softly to her.

Bai Yuqiao didn’t feel nervous at all. She just thought the voice sounded familiar.

She turned back and met a pair of familiar eyes.

It was Director Gao.

The physical for Bai Xiaochu’s group lasted past three in the afternoon. For the final item, Bai Yuqiao sat on the sofa outside, waiting.

She clutched her phone, her face unusually uneasy.

Meanwhile.

In the testing department, Gao Wenlan removed her mask with a great sense of relief. The repression of many years had been released. Sadness, joy, excitement… various emotions intertwined, leaving her limp. She barely managed to stand by supporting herself on the nearby table.

The accompanying vice dean, also a longtime friend whom Gao Wenlan had known for years, kept stroking her back. She was so happy that she was on the verge of tears. “Wenlan! That’s great! That’s great!”

Bai Xiaochu walked out of the room. She first sent a message in the group chat to her colleagues, then finally walked up to Bai Yuqiao and said quite satisfied, “Yuqiao! I finally finished!”

Bai Yuqiao, who sat on the sofa wearing a very fitted black T-shirt, looked up. Her expression toward Bai Xiaochu inexplicably showed a mix of melancholy and bewilderment.

Indeed.

Bai Xiaochu thought, ‘Is this just my imagination? Yuqiao and Gao Wenlan really do look somewhat alike.’

Just as she was about to speak and call Bai Yuqiao to go eat something.

Bai Yuqiao pursed her lips and held up her phone screen to her.

It read—

【Mom, are we here for a paternity test?】