"Impossible!" The woman simply could not accept this reality. She screamed, "No way. My son was healthy when he was abducted. He could run and jump. Impossible."
"This isn't our child." As she spoke, the woman looked at her husband, panic in her eyes as she blurted out, "He can't be our child. Our child isn't disabled."
The moment those words came out, the surroundings fell silent.
The man glanced at everyone's expressions, reached out to grab the agitated woman, and urged in a low voice, "Calm down."
Without saying a word, the old director looked at the utterly stunned child, then gave the volunteer auntie a look, signaling her to take the child away first.
"Let's find somewhere convenient to talk," the old director said gravely.
Thus, amid the whispered discussions of the neighboring residents, the group left People's Square and returned to the orphanage. In the director's office, the old director poured two cups of chilled sour plum drink for the guests who had come from afar.
"Xinbao... oh, the Yangyang you're referring to. He was one of the victims rescued by the police when they busted a human trafficking ring. Since we couldn't locate any relatives or family members, he was temporarily placed in our welfare home along with five other victims."
Aside from Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan, who could accurately state their names and ages, the other four children could not speak. The old director gave them names and pet names: Happy Treasure, Welcome Treasure, Xinbao, and Arrival Treasure. It meant that Red Heart Orphanage welcomed the newly arrived little ones.
The couple clearly still had trouble accepting the truth. The woman kept muttering, "How did he become disabled? How could those traffickers be so heartless? How could they cripple the child? He's only seven