38: Chapter 38 Zhou Yurou Detained for Child Abduction

For the past few days, the daily intelligence system hadn't pushed any red alerts; it was all trivial stuff like "convenience store discounts" or "power outage notices for the incubator."

Zhang Fan gradually breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that things on Zhou Yurou's side might finally quiet down, and once he finished his project, he would accompany her to file for divorce.

But peace is always short-lived.

That afternoon, Zhou Yurou didn't come to deliver soup.

Zhang Fan felt a bit disappointed, but Gu Jingshen didn't think much of it: "Probably just not feeling well. Women, you know, they have those days."

He didn't think much more about it and continued to bury himself in the project with Gu Jingshen, only stopping late at night to rest his head on the desk for a quick nap.

"Beep—" A line of scarlet text suddenly popped up on the daily intelligence system interface: [Urgent Intelligence: Zhou Yurou is detained at the East City Police Station. Please rescue her immediately.]

"Damn it!" Zhang Fan jumped up, causing his chair to crash with a loud "clatter."

Gu Jingshen was startled and sat up, rubbing his eyes: "What's wrong? Did a corpse come back to life?"

Gu Jingshen froze for two seconds, then, without even bothering to close his game, grabbed his car keys and followed: "Wait, let me contact the legal department first."

Half an hour later, the two of them rushed into the East City Police Station, panting.

The on-duty police officer checked the records, then looked up at them with a scrutinizing gaze: "Are you Zhou Yurou's family? She is suspected of child abduction and is currently in the holding room."

"Child abduction?" Zhang Fan and Gu Jingshen shouted in unison, completely dumbfounded.

Gu Jingshen quickly pulled out his phone: "Impossible, you've made a mistake! We are from the Gu Group, and our lawyer will be here shortly."

The officer clearly recognized the name of the Gu Corporation and softened his tone: "The victim's family hasn't given a statement yet, but the child identified her as a trafficker on the spot. According to protocol, she must be sent to the detention center within 24 hours of being detained."

Zhang Fan's heart sank to the bottom. Child abduction is a criminal offense; once a criminal record is established, Zhou Yurou's life would be ruined.

Not long after, the legal team from the Gu Corporation arrived. Lawyer Wang, who led the team, identified himself, spoke with the police for a moment, and then turned to them: "You can see her, but you only have ten minutes."

The lights in the holding room were stark white. Zhou Yurou sat on a metal chair, her hair disheveled and her eyes red and swollen. When she saw them, tears instantly welled up: "Zhang Fan..."

"Sister Zhou, what exactly happened?" Zhang Fan asked, his voice hoarse with anxiety.

Zhou Yurou choked back sobs as she recounted the events intermittently—

This afternoon, she went to the mall to buy daily necessities and unexpectedly ran into Yang Lei in the children's clothing section.

Yuan Mubai was with him; the two were holding hands, and she was carrying Yang Wenjiao.

Today wasn't the weekend, and her daughter should have been at kindergarten. Why was she with them?

"Yang Lei, why did you bring Mimi out? Why didn't you let her go to school? And why did you bring her out with this woman?" she rushed over to demand.

Yuan Mubai clung to Yang Lei's arm, smiling provocatively: "Ms. Zhou, Mimi wanted to come out and play, so what's wrong with us bringing her out?"

"Shut up!" Zhou Yurou tried to grab Yang Wenjiao's hand: "Mimi, come home with Mommy."

Yang Wenjiao violently shook her off, hid behind Yuan Mubai, and suddenly screamed: "You're not my mommy! You're a human trafficker! Let me go!"

Zhou Yurou was stunned by her yell and froze in place.

Yuan Mubai fanned the flames from the side: "Look, look, the child says she doesn't know you. Get away quickly, or we're calling the police!"

"I am her mother!" Zhou Yurou was so anxious she was on the verge of tears, trying to forcibly take Yang Wenjiao.

Just then, mall security and patrol police arrived. Yuan Mubai held Yang Wenjiao, crying pitifully: "Officer, this human trafficker is trying to snatch my child!"

Zhou Yurou hurriedly explained: "She is my daughter! I am her mother!"

But Yang Wenjiao cried even harder: "She's not! She wants to sell me!"

The police looked at Yang Lei: "Do you know her?"

Yang Lei avoided Zhou Yurou's gaze and said coldly: "No, I don't."

Then, he took Yuan Mubai and Yang Wenjiao and left without looking back, leaving her to be taken away by the police. No matter how she explained, no one believed her—what biological daughter would call her own mother a human trafficker?

"What the hell is this!" Gu Jingshen kicked a trash can nearby in anger. "Is Yang Lei even human? He won't even let his own daughter recognize her mother?"

Zhang Fan's heart felt like it had been pierced by an ice pick, aching intensely.

"Have the police summoned Yang Lei?" Lawyer Wang asked.

"They have, but he hasn't shown up." Zhou Yurou's voice was full of despair. "They said that without the child's father to confirm the relationship, they have to detain me first..."

Lawyer Wang frowned: "Child trafficking is a serious crime. If there is no evidence to rule it out after 24 hours of detention, she will be sent to the detention center. We must have Yang Lei come immediately to give a statement."

Gu Jingshen immediately pulled out his phone: "I'll have someone go to your house and check. If he's there, I'll bring him in!"

Watching Gu Jingshen rush out in a flurry, Zhang Fan looked at Zhou Yurou's red eyes and suddenly remembered her saying earlier that she "still had Mimi to worry about."

But now, even this last bit of attachment had turned into a knife stabbing at her heart.

At two in the morning, Yang Lei was finally "invited" to the Police Station by Gu Jingshen and a few of his tough friends.

He had probably been drinking, as he was staggering. When he saw Zhou Yurou, his eyes darted away, and he muttered, "A misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding..."

"A misunderstanding?" Zhou Yurou stood up abruptly, her voice hoarse. "Yang Lei, look me in the eye and tell me, is Mimi my daughter?"

Yang Lei was startled by her intensity and didn't dare to look her in the eye, only telling the police: "Yes, she is my daughter... I was confused before and didn't dare to admit it."

With Yang Lei's testimony and the copy of the household registration book that Gu Jingshen had brought, the truth finally came to light. The police officer immediately revoked the detention order and apologized repeatedly: "I am truly sorry; you have been wronged."

When they walked out of the Police Station, it was already dawn. Yang Lei wanted to say something, but he was taken away by Gu Jingshen and his friends for a "talk."

Zhou Yurou walked forward without saying a word, and Zhang Fan followed behind her. He wanted to say something comforting, but he found that any words seemed pale.

When they reached the intersection, Zhou Yurou suddenly stopped, squatted on the ground, and covered her face, sobbing uncontrollably. The crying wasn't suppressed like before, but was a complete breakdown, as if she were trying to cry out her very soul.

"Seven years... I've been married for seven years, quit my job for this family, stayed at home to raise the child, and served my parents-in-law. And what was the result?" She choked, her voice broken. "My husband cheated, my mother-in-law despised me, my sister-in-law wished me dead, and even the daughter I raised with my own hands helped outsiders to hurt me..."

"What was it all for..."

Zhang Fan watched her curled up on the ground, like a child abandoned by the whole world, and his heart felt sour and bitter.

Zhou Yurou cried for a long time until the sky began to turn white, then she slowly looked up. Her eyes were red and swollen like walnuts, and tear tracks still stained her face, but her gaze was unusually calm—so calm it was unsettling.

"Zhang Fan, thank you." She stood up and brushed the dust off her pants. "Can you help me? I don't want any property or anything; I just want to get a divorce as soon as possible."

"Sister Zhou, you..."

"I don't want this family anymore." Zhou Yurou interrupted him, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. There was no hatred in that smile, only complete relief. "Husband, child—I don't want any of it. I just want to leave here and go as far away as possible."

After saying this, she turned and walked toward the bus stop, her figure thin but straight, like a blade of grass that had been ravaged by a storm yet still stood stubbornly upright.

Zhang Fan stood where he was, knowing clearly that the Sister Zhou who was always gentle and enduring had already died on this cold night.

And a brand new Zhou Yurou was quietly being reborn in the glimmer of dawn.