Pigtails, a pink bubble skirt.
She was... Mr. Jia's daughter!?
Lingling blinked her pretty big eyes in surprise and rushed towards Song Xi with her hands open, "Sister!"
Song Xi crouched down and hugged her, her eyes filled with joy, "How did you get here?"
She hadn't seen her since the last kidnapping. She had grown a bit taller.
Song Xi smiled when she saw the bracelet on her wrist.
Lingling replied in her childish voice, "I followed Xiao Ju inside."
"Xiao Ju?"
Song Xi turned and saw the orange cat grooming itself on the sofa. Judging by its fur color and cleanliness, it wasn't a stray.
Song Xi then noticed some spilled cat food on the floor. She understood, it seemed the owner of the cat lived in this room.
Dai Ze had checked all the rooms earlier and hadn't seen anyone, but he said, "The bathroom is full of water, as if the faucet is broken."
Song Xi frowned slightly.
Dai Ze said, "Since we found her, let's go."
Despite the many doubts, it was clearly best to leave this place immediately.
Song Xi picked up Lingling, who was very clingy, and nestled into her arms.
But after only a few steps, they heard someone unlock the door and walk in.
With nowhere to hide, Song Xi could only protect the child, while Dai Ze shielded them.
It was a young woman, in her twenties, with short hair and very short shorts, seemingly chewing bubble gum.
She was carrying a bag of instant food and a beer. Seeing a man, a woman, and a little girl in her room, she wasn't scared. Instead, she calmly asked, "Who are you? Are you here to pet cats too?"
"Too?"
The word was used quite cleverly.
Liu Sisi kicked a can of cola at her feet, casually petted the cat, then walked past Dai Ze, looking at Song Xi, and finally her gaze fell on Lingling in her arms.
"Your family is here to pick you up. We can pet cats again next time."
It seemed Lingling often came here to pet cats.
Dai Ze and Song Xi exchanged glances, both tacitly agreeing that now was not the time for questions, but rather to quickly hand Lingling over to Mr. Jia and put his mind at ease.
Just as they reached the door, Liu Sisi, sitting on the sofa, suddenly said, "I heard there was a child missing at the hotel?"
Dai Ze was startled, and quickly shielded Song Xi and the others as they hurried out of the room.
While waiting for the elevator, Song Xi's brow was furrowed. She felt something was not right, as if she had overlooked something.
Dai Ze said, "Don't overthink it. The important thing is that the child is found. By the way, how do you know Mr. Jia's daughter?"
Song Xi brushed it off with the word "accident."
For some reason, her heart felt uneasy.
After thinking for a moment, Song Xi finally spoke, "Lingling, big sister has a few questions for you. You must answer them honestly."
Lingling nodded obediently.
"Do you often go to the short-haired sister's place to pet Xiao Ju? What time did you go today?"
Lingling said crisply, "I went every day for the past few days, but Sister Sisi didn't open the door at 1:30 today."
"Then how did you get in?"
"It was Xiao Ju. The door wasn't locked, and Xiao Ju ran out."
Song Xi frowned, "Was the room messy when you went in? What was Sister Sisi doing?"
"The room was always messy. Sister Sisi said she doesn't like cleaning, and it gets messy anyway when she argues with her boyfriend."
Lingling lowered her head, trying hard to recall, "At that time... Sister Sisi was taking a bath, but the water was cold. She'll catch a cold like that."
A bath, cold water, an argument... and a smell.
As soon as she entered the room, she had smelled a very unpleasant odor.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Song Xi's mind.
Oh no!