Wang Cuihua stood at the doorway blocking the way, holding her little boy tightly. Her bulky figure was like a wall of flesh, blocking most of the light. Her greedy eyes swept over Yun Hanchuan's branded coat, then fixated on the Patek Philippe watch on his wrist, her cloudy pupils glinting with calculation.
"Who are you?" Yun Hanchuan's voice was as cold as ice.
"I'm this girl's stepmother!" she deliberately raised her voice, sharp and grating. "Who are you? What gives you the right to take my child away?" As she spoke, the flesh on her face twitched, spitting a few droplets of saliva.
Yun Hanchuan slowly turned around, his gaze so cold that Wang Cuihua instinctively took a half step back. He didn't answer immediately but gently lifted Nuan Nuan's sleeve — the bruises, purple and blue like coiling snakes, sprawled across the girl's slender arm. Some had turned black, some still bore fresh traces of blood, but the most horrifying were the deep circular imprints, so severe they seemed to reach the bone.
"Was it you who did this?" Yun Hanchuan's voice was low, yet it felt as if the temperature in the room suddenly dropped by ten degrees.
Wang Cuihua swallowed hard, her rough fingers instinctively squeezing little Xiaohu in her arms, causing the child to burst into loud crying. "I—I'm just disciplining my own child. What's that got to do with you?" Suddenly, she reached out to grab Nuan Nuan. "Give her back to me!"
Yun Hanchuan smoothly stepped aside and passed Nuan Nuan to Cheng Yan with fluid ease, causing Wang Cuihua to miss and nearly stumble, her bulky body wobbled. Furious and humiliated, the flesh on her face twisted into a grotesque snarl. "Do you know who my man is? How dare you act wild here in Qing Shan Ao!"
Yun Hanchuan took out the silver necklace from his pocket; the diamond pendant shimmered dazzlingly in the sunset light. "This," he waved the necklace in front of Wang Cuihua's eyes, "is worth three million."
Her eyes immediately widened, her breath quickened, and her rough fingers involuntarily reached forward. But Yun Hanchuan suddenly withdrew the necklace, pointing instead to Nuan Nuan cradled in Cheng Yan's arms: "And she is priceless."
Wang Cuihua hadn't yet recovered from the dazzling sparkle of the diamond when Yun Hanchuan stepped forward, closing the distance between them. With each step he took, Wang Cuihua stumbled backward, until her bulky back pressed against the mottled earthen wall.
"Each time you hit her, I'll make sure your husband spends an extra year in prison," Yun Hanchuan said calmly, his voice chillingly composed. "Do the math—how many years will he end up serving today?"
"You're— you're talking nonsense!" Wang Cuihua's face drained of color, her voice trembling. "My man is an upright person!"
"Last winter, the pregnant bear at the north mountain; last month, the century-old red pine that was stolen from Old Li's place in the east village; and…" Yun Hanchuan took a step closer with each word, "every Friday night, the gambling den in your basement." Suddenly, he placed his hand on the wall right beside her ear, his tone dropping to an icy whisper. "Oh, and your son's incident last year, pushing someone into the water—the witnesses are still alive."
"You're— you're lying!" Wang Cuihua's legs began to shake uncontrollably. Feeling her mother's fear, little Xiaohu suddenly burst into loud crying.
Yun Hanchuan ignored her and turned back to Cheng Yan's side, carefully lifting Nuan Nuan once more. "Let's go."
"Wait!" Wang Cuihua suddenly remembered something and pointed at the jade pendant clenched in Nuan Nuan's hand. "That's my family's property! You have to give it back!"
Only then did Yun Hanchuan notice that Nuan Nuan's other hand was tightly holding something else. He gently pried open her small fingers, but they gripped as if rooted, her knuckles whitening with the effort.
"Nuan Nuan, let go," Yun Hanchuan's voice softened to an almost unbelievable gentleness, a stark contrast to before. "Let me see it, okay?"
Cheng Yan couldn't help but sneak a glance — the ruthless, decisive Yun Hanchuan known in the business world as the "Living King of Hell" was now speaking in a coaxing tone fit for a child. He almost thought he was hearing things.
Perhaps it was the gentleness in his voice, because Nuan Nuan's tense fingers finally loosened just a little. Yun Hanchuan carefully took out the object from her palm — a bloodstained white jade pendant.
The jade pendant shimmered with a lustrous glow under the sunlight. Yun Hanchuan barely glanced at it before he froze as if struck by lightning. His fingers trembled uncontrollably, struggling to hold onto the small object.
"Where… is this from?" His voice was tightly strained, as if squeezed through clenched teeth.
Yun Hanchuan flipped the pendant over and saw the character "云" (Yun) engraved on the back. His pupils suddenly contracted sharply. He looked up at Nuan Nuan's pale little face, then down again at the pendant. An incredible thought flashed through his mind.
"Mr. Yun?" Cheng Yan noticed his boss's unusual reaction and quietly asked.
Yun Hanchuan did not reply. Instead, he carefully put away the pendant, then swiftly carried Nuan Nuan toward the door. "Return to Qianhai City immediately. Contact Brother Mochuan. I want a DNA test done as soon as possible."
Cheng Yan was momentarily stunned, then realization dawned on him. He looked at Nuan Nuan in shock and said, "Are you saying..."
Yun Hanchuan gave no explanation. Instead, he held the child in his arms even tighter. If his suspicion was correct, then what had happened on that rainy night six years ago was far more complicated than he had ever imagined...
At that moment, Nuan Nuan stirred slightly in his embrace. Her small hand instinctively grasped his tie, as if clutching the first lifeline she had ever known.