Summers in Ning City are marked by frequent rain.
Qin Nian woke up to the sound of a downpour outside, the rain hammering against the windows, drowning out almost every other sound.
Standing by the window, he listened to the rain and watched the servants bustling below. Qin Jiaxu moved among them, directing the maids as they set up the venue.
“Boom—”
The rain, once fierce, began to ease. Suddenly, a deep, resonant bell rang out from the hills behind, catching Qin Nian’s attention as he glanced toward the distant mountains.
Behind Jiangnan Shore, there stood a Buddhist temple nestled halfway up the mountain, its bell echoing through the area.
Since his rebirth, Qin Nian had developed a certain reverence for the divine, unable to explain the phenomenon of his own reincarnation.
With nothing else to do, he suddenly felt the urge to visit the temple.
Leaving his room, he found the main hall bustling with activity, yet no one paid him any mind. It was amusing, really, that a banquet meant for him was being prepared without anyone caring about his presence.
He grabbed an umbrella. Though the rain had lessened since the morning, a light drizzle still occasionally fell from the sky.
The Qin Family villa wasn’t far from the temple, but due to ongoing road construction, the surroundings were desolate and the paths muddy, so Qin Nian walked slowly.
Upon reaching the temple, he found that the poor weather had kept most visitors away.
In the main hall, three golden Buddha statues stood, the deity’s eyes cast downward, overseeing all.
Inside the temple, incense smoke curled through the air, and Buddhist scriptures played softly, bringing a sense of peace to the heart.
Qin Nian lit incense and made a donation. He hadn’t often visited this place before, but despite the few visitors today, the temple’s decor and furnishings suggested a steady stream of worshipers.
Originally just wandering aimlessly, Qin Nian soon heard slow footsteps approaching.
Looking toward the sound, he saw a group of monks accompanying a master.
The group had been conversing, but the master fell silent upon seeing Qin Nian, giving him a once-over. The other monks seemed surprised to find a visitor in such weather.
The master regarded Qin Nian with a hint of surprise that Qin Nian couldn’t decipher. “You must be sincere, coming to worship in this weather.”
Qin Nian replied calmly, “I was just nearby and heard the bell, so I came to take a look.”
The master nodded. “You have an auspicious aura. You will surely be blessed in the future.”
Qin Nian couldn’t tell if this was mere politeness or genuine insight, but he thanked the master and prepared to leave.
However, the master stopped him. “Meeting you today is fated. Why not stay for some tea?”
Qin Nian glanced at the sky. It was still early, and with the weather as it was, he decided to stay.
In a private room, the master prepared tea with practiced grace, the sight soothing to watch.
After discarding the first brew, the master gestured for Qin Nian to try the rich, reddish tea.
Though not a connoisseur, Qin Nian could tell the tea was of high quality, its richness and lingering sweetness evident with each sip.
As he gazed into his cup, Qin Nian’s thoughts drifted to his own situation. He looked up and asked the master, “What do you think about people returning to the past?”
The master, who had been focused on the tea, chuckled at the question, setting down the teapot. “Perhaps it’s true that what you hold dear will echo back to you. Everything is connected.”
The master wasn’t particularly talkative, and the two of them sat in silence, sipping tea as they watched the light rain outside.
Though it was summer, the weather made the day darken quickly. By late afternoon, the sky was already a deep gray, and another cloud loomed in the distance, promising more rain.
“You should be heading back,” the master suddenly said.
Qin Nian, staring at the sky, was taken aback by the abrupt suggestion. He didn’t understand why the master had invited him for tea only to send him away so suddenly.
“It’s getting dark, and with the rain, the road back could be dangerous,” the master said with a gentle smile.
Qin Nian nodded, setting down his cup and taking his leave.
As he descended the mountain, Qin Nian was grateful he’d remembered to bring an umbrella that morning.
Checking his phone, he saw it was already five in the afternoon. The rain showed no sign of stopping, but it had lessened considerably from the earlier downpour. Knowing the rain would make the day darken sooner, and with the distance to the Qin Family home, he decided to head back before the rain intensified again.
He walked slowly. The rain and the remote location of Jiangnan Shore meant the road was nearly deserted, with only the occasional private car passing by.
The road was eerily quiet, the only sound the rain pattering on the trees. So when a child’s cry suddenly pierced the silence near a half-built bus stop, it was startlingly clear, even carrying a hint of eeriness.
Qin Nian paused, halting his journey back to the Qin Family. In such a desolate area, why would there be a child’s cry? Could a child have gotten lost?
Following the sound, he approached the unfinished bus stop, which looked more like a small industrial ruin. Under a half-constructed shelter, a little girl was crying, her small shoulders trembling. The shelter was incomplete, and rain dripped through, soaking her clothes.
Qin Nian approached, shielding the girl from the rain with his umbrella. It was just big enough for him alone, so he tilted it toward her, letting the rain soak his back.
The sudden chill of the rain made him shiver.
The girl noticed the umbrella above her and stopped crying, looking up at him in surprise.
“Hey there, why are you crying here all alone? Where are your parents?”
The girl was initially wary of the stranger, but upon seeing Qin Nian’s face, she hesitated. Children’s reactions are often simple and direct, and Qin Nian’s good looks naturally endeared him to her. His gentle voice as he crouched to speak with her eased her wariness.
She sniffled, giving a little huff. “Who… who said I was crying? I was just enjoying the view.”
Qin Nian: …
He stared at the little girl, her eyes brimming with tears and her nose running, and fell silent.
“Should I leave then?” Qin Nian asked.
He had only meant to tease her, but the girl’s composure crumbled at the thought of him leaving. She quickly grabbed his sleeve. “No, don’t go, big brother.”
Her eyes welled with tears again.
Qin Nian had no intention of leaving her alone. He took out a tissue and gently wiped her tears, saying lightly, “I was just joking.”
The girl was adorable, dressed in expensive clothes that showed she was cherished by her family. If she was lost, her family must be worried sick.
This reminded Qin Nian of something from his past life. Shortly after he returned to the Qin Family, there had been a high-profile case of a wealthy family’s daughter being kidnapped and killed, which had shocked all of Ning City. The girl had been kidnapped during a party at the Qin Family home.
At the time, Qin Nian hadn’t paid much attention, focused as he was on winning over Father Qin and Mother Qin, and he hadn’t concerned himself with the world around him.
But he remembered how troubled Father Qin and Qin Jiaxu had been, how they had helped search for the missing child. Yet, the family had apparently made enemies, and the child was tragically killed.
Once the girl was calm, Qin Nian took out his phone, unlocked it, and asked, “Do you remember your parents’ phone number?”
The girl nodded, took the phone, and dialed a number. They both watched the screen, waiting for the call to connect.
But instead of the expected connection, the phone emitted a short “dudu” sound, followed by a mechanical voice: “The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.”
—The call had been disconnected.
Qin Nian hadn’t expected this outcome, and the girl couldn’t believe her call had been cut off so quickly. Her eyes, which had just stopped tearing up, began to well with tears again.
With the child on the verge of tears, Qin Nian, not adept at comforting children, was at a loss. “Um… maybe your family is busy. Why don’t we wait a bit and try again?”
The girl looked at Qin Nian pitifully. “Really? But I just had a fight with my uncle. What if he’s too mad to come for me?”
Qin Nian reassured her, “Of course not. This is my phone, so maybe your uncle didn’t recognize the number and didn’t pick up. Let’s try again in a bit. I’m sure he’ll answer.”
Meanwhile, the Feng residence was in chaos.
“How could you not tell me right away that Little Miss is missing?” The housekeeper scolded the maid responsible for her care while dispatching security and other staff to search for her.
The maid, a woman in her forties, was crying like a child caught in wrongdoing. “I thought Little Miss was just playing hide and seek like before. I didn’t expect her to run off this time.”
“You thought, you thought. We’re not at the old house. This area around Jiangnan Shore is still under construction and quite messy. If anything happens to Little Miss, losing your job will be the least of your worries.”
The maid, terrified by the words, cried even harder, nearly fainting from fear.
The news of Feng Yuanyuan’s disappearance quickly reached Feng Wang, the head of the Feng Family.
In Feng Wang’s office, the silence was palpable, the ticking of the clock on the wall clearly audible.
His long, strong fingers tapped the mahogany desk a few times as he instructed his secretary, “Don’t let Wan Ting know about this yet. We don’t need her causing more trouble. Report it to the police, but make sure they keep it quiet. No missing person posters—”
“Ring ring ring, Uncle, pick up the phone. Uncle, pick up the phone.”
Before he could finish, an inappropriate ringtone filled the office, the childish voice echoing throughout.
Secretary Yang always found the ringtone amusing. After all, who would believe that the CEO of Feng Corporation had such a childish and ridiculous ringtone?
Feng Wang, however, showed no reaction. He glanced at the unfamiliar number on the screen and coldly swiped to reject the call.
This was Feng Wang’s private phone, a number known only to close friends and family. Occasionally, though, someone would get hold of it, hoping to curry favor with the Feng Family.
So when Feng Wang saw the unfamiliar number, his first instinct was to reject it.
“You can go now.”
Secretary Yang nodded and left the office.
As soon as Yang left, the phone lit up again.
“Ring ring ring, Uncle, pick up the phone. Uncle, pick up the phone.”
—It was the same unfamiliar number.
Feng Wang’s already foul mood worsened.
He decisively rejected the call again, and as he was about to block the number, he was surprised when the caller tried yet again.
Feng Wang narrowed his eyes. Did someone mistake him for an easygoing person, thinking they could call repeatedly?
“Uncle, pick up—”
He answered the call, curious to see who was bold enough to persist.
“Ah, finally connected. Hello, there’s a child here who seems to be yours—”
As soon as the call connected, a clear young voice came through.