Chapter 15: The Child is Lost

That night, Lin Qingxiang stayed at the hospital with Lin Qin and Liu Yaya to watch over Chen Wenjun, only leaving the next morning after Chen Wenjun finished his surgery.

No sooner had Lin Qingxiang left than Liu Yongming arrived.

He had even bought some fruit and such.

Lin Qin stared at him intensely, shielding the child behind her. "What are you here for?"

Liu Yongming glanced at Lin Yi on the bed, then smirked with a roguish air. "Lin Qin, look at your dad. In this state, not only can he not help you, but you have to wait on him. Can you even take care of Yaya? I’m here today to take my daughter back. She won’t have a good life following you!"

Liu Yaya grabbed Lin Qin’s pants in fear, trying her best to hide behind her.

Liu Yongming stepped closer. "Yaya, be a good girl and come to Daddy. Listen to me! Otherwise, Daddy is going to get angry!"

Liu Yaya continued to hide with all her might, and Liu Yongming’s face darkened instantly. "Didn't you hear what your father said? Get out here!"

"Waa!" Liu Yaya cried out in fright.

A nurse walked in and warned, "Family members, please don't make noise in the ward; it affects the patients' rest."

"Yes, yes, we understand." Liu Yongming immediately changed his expression in front of an outsider.

He waited until the nurse left before his face darkened again, blocking Lin Qin and Liu Yaya, determined to have a standoff with them.

"Let me tell you, Lin Qin, without your dad to help you, you’re nothing now! I’m taking Yaya today, no matter who tries to stop me! When you finally learn to be obedient and clear my sister’s name of those rumors, I’ll consider whether or not to forgive you!"

Liu Yongming looked down at them with a haughty, unbothered air.

"Pah! You want to take my daughter? Keep dreaming!"

Lin Qin spat directly into Liu Yongming’s face without hesitation.

Liu Yongming let out a sinister laugh, wiped the spit off his face, and grabbed Lin Qin’s throat with both hands. "You ungrateful bitch!"

"Mommy, Mommy!" Liu Yaya wailed in terror.

Lin Ying and Xu Dahai, who had just entered the ward, were horrified.

Without a word, Xu Dahai stepped forward to pull Liu Yongming away. "Let her go!"

Seeing this, Lin Qin decisively raised her foot and kicked Liu Yongming hard in the crotch.

Liu Yongming’s eyes nearly popped out from the pain; his face flushed red, and he couldn't speak. He let go, clutched his crotch, and slowly crouched down.

Lin Qin viciously kicked him in the head once more, then slumped against the hospital bed, coughing to vent her anger.

Lin Ying, confused by the situation, picked up the terrified Liu Yaya to soothe her. "What happened?"

Lin Qin said to Xu Dahai, "Brother-in-law, this piece of trash tried to kill me, wanted to snatch Yaya, and cursed my dad. Help me throw him out—wait, check if he has any money on him. My dad’s surgery cost a lot."

Xu Dahai acted without hesitation.

Liu Yongming, who couldn't resist Xu Dahai, who had done farm work for years, shouted in angry agony, "Lin Qin, how dare you! This is robbery! I’m calling the police, I’m calling the police!"

Lin Qin sneered, "Go ahead! It’s a perfect time for us to settle our accounts. My dowry and the wages I earned working for your family all these years—I want you to pay me back every single cent!"

"Lin Qin! You’ll die a horrible death! I won’t let you off!" Liu Yongming glared at Lin Qin with venomous eyes.

"Hand it over!" Xu Dahai pulled sixty yuan from Liu Yongming’s pocket and handed it all to Lin Qin.

"So much? Looks like you’ve been doing pretty well for yourself all these years! Well, of course, sucking my blood and eating my flesh, how could you be poor?" Lin Qin mocked.

Facing so many people, Liu Yongming knew he had no chance of winning and left in a rage.

Lin Ying was extremely worried. "Will he really call the police?"

Lin Qin shook her head. "Sister, don't worry. I’m not divorced from him yet. What’s wrong with having a son-in-law pay for his father-in-law’s hospital stay? Even if the police come, we’re in the right!"

"Mommy, Mommy, hold me!" Liu Yaya struggled, reaching out toward Lin Qin.

Lin Qin quickly hugged her to comfort her.

After chatting for a long time, Lin Ying and her husband learned about everything that had happened to Lin Qin during this time.

Xu Dahai said thoughtfully, "Father-in-law’s injury must have something to do with Liu Yongming."

If they hadn't arrived in time just now, Lin Qin might have been strangled to death by Liu Yongming, or at the very least, left half-dead, and the child would have been taken away.

Lin Ying asked in confusion, "Since the Liu family doesn't care for Yaya, why does Liu Yongming want to snatch the child?"

Lin Qin let out a cold snort. "What other reason could there be? It’s nothing more than wanting to use the child to manipulate me. I went to Liu Li’s school to expose her true colors, and now she can't stay there. How could that old hag Ma Cuihua just let it go?

I know what you want to say, but I don't regret it. My daughter won't be bullied for nothing. Those people in the Liu family bullied us and still want to live a good life? Keep dreaming!"

Seeing Lin Qin’s hostility, Lin Ying didn't dare say anything else, filled only with worry. "Then what are you going to do next? Liu Yongming was bold enough to beat Dad like this; who knows what he might do if you don't follow his wishes!"

Back home, Liu Yongming was indeed furious.

When Fang Ying learned that Liu Yongming had been beaten by Lin Qin, she was also incensed. "Is that woman crazy? She actually kicked you there! I think she really doesn't want to live anymore! No! We have to let them know how tough we are! That money-losing brat must be brought back. As long as we have her, I don't believe she can escape our grasp!"

Liu Yongming lay on the bed, still in great pain. "You think I don't want to? I thought that old man was so badly hurt that taking the child would be easy, but I didn't expect someone to intervene—and two of them at that! What could I do?"

He had lurked around Shangcun Lin for several days just to find an opportunity.

It had taken him so much effort just to deal with Lin Yi; it wasn't realistic to try and take on Lin Ying and Xu Dahai as well.

Fang Ying fell into deep thought. After a long while, she stood up and sneered, "Leave this to me. Don't worry about it."

"What are you planning to do?" Liu Yongming asked, very curious.

Fang Ying didn't intend to say more, only telling him to recover from his injuries.

Lin Yi’s injuries required at least ten days of hospitalization, and he could only be discharged after confirming there were no issues.

Lin Ying’s in-laws had a lot of work to do, so the couple couldn't stay to help care for him the whole time. After Lin Yi woke up, Xu Dahai stayed for one day before taking the bus home.

Lin Ying stayed behind to help Lin Qin with the caretaking.

Since they were both daughters, it was inconvenient for them to handle Lin Yi’s personal needs, so they had to hire a temporary caregiver to help out.

But they had to solve the problem of meals themselves.

Lin Qin couldn't keep her daughter by her side and watch her every second while doing everything.

She had only gone down to get food, but when she returned, she didn't see the child. She checked the restroom, but she wasn't there either.

"Sister, where is Yaya?"

Lin Ying’s face changed drastically. "She said she wanted to go pee just now, so I let her go. Isn't she in the restroom?"

Both of them panicked and began searching for the child in every ward along the hospital corridor.

Even the doctors and nurses were alerted.

Losing a child was a major event, and some kind-hearted patients' families joined in the search, shouting "Yaya" inside and outside the building.