Rebirth Counterattack with Space
Chapter 423 - 407: A Man’s Tears

Chapter 423: Chapter 407: A Man’s Tears

"Oh, right, the commander’s spouse also found scars on the child from cigarette burns after helping bathe the child. So his spouse specially applied scar removal ointment to the child and even put the remaining ointment in the child’s pocket. The commander, knowing the child is too young to explain, specifically instructed to give you a reminder not to forget to apply the ointment every day. The ointment’s effect in lightening scars is said to be very good, far surpassing those sold in the market,"

Officer Xu suddenly remembered this detail and hurriedly gave them a solemn reminder.

Scars from cigarette burns?

Zhao Jia’an and Cao Xinyu couldn’t hold back and in their haste, they lifted the child’s clothes to check, which nearly made their eyes bloodshot. Even Xu and Ke, the two officers, who were accustomed to seeing all kinds of wounds, couldn’t bear to look directly at the nearly skinless abused child through the rearview mirror.

"Those who deserve to be cut a thousand times," Zhao Jia’an and Cao Xinyu gritted their teeth with an audible grind, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

"Yinyin, it’s all Mommy’s fault for not protecting you," Cao Xinyu said, her anger followed by extreme sorrow as she hugged Zhao Ziyin and cried until she was gasping for breath.

"Mommy, don’t cry, it doesn’t hurt anymore," Zhao Ziyin clumsily wiped Cao Xinyu’s tears with her hand. Seeing Cao Xinyu unable to stop crying, she reluctantly pinched the small jade box in her hand and took a long time to decide before reluctantly handing it over to Cao Xinyu.

"Mommy, take this, don’t cry anymore," Zhao Ziyin’s childish voice made Cao Xinyu’s tears flow even more fiercely. With tear-filled eyes, she didn’t even see what her daughter had handed to her; she grasped her daughter’s small hand and held it against her cheek, caressing it, "Mommy will definitely keep a closer eye on you from now on, never letting anyone else take care of you again."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jia’an’s face darkened, and his lips moved slightly, with little confidence, he murmured, "Zhao Xi didn’t mean to."

"You are still making excuses for her at this point. I don’t care whether she did it intentionally or not; since she insisted on taking Yinyin out, she should have been responsible for watching her, not so irresponsibly getting lost in her romance with her boyfriend and not even knowing when Yinyin was lost. Now seeing the child suffering like this, don’t you feel heartbroken?" Cao Xinyu cried out in accusation.

The child was lost, and it was because the little sister-in-law took her out and was irresponsible, not bothering to take care and just losing her. And to top it off, the good attitude of her father-in-law and mother-in-law, which she had seen so far, chilled her heart; they not only pushed off responsibility for the little sister-in-law after the fact but also soon began hinting that, after all, there was a nine out of ten chance the child wouldn’t be found, and rather than wasting a lot of effort in a fruitless search, it would be better to take advantage of their youth and have another child.

What the in-laws said was like twisting a knife in her bleeding heart—what mother could stand to hear such words? Moreover, she always knew that the in-laws were somewhat displeased with her for having given birth to a daughter, feeling that she had caused the extinction of the Zhao family line. But because Zhao Jia’an protected her and she was a civil servant with a good job, the in-laws could only sigh.

They often said it was a pity she was a civil servant and couldn’t violate the nation’s policy; otherwise, since Zhao Jia’an was a businessman, as long as he could pay the fines, the country would not care if he had more children than allowed.

They said this so often that she became stubborn. No matter how much the in-laws persuaded her to resign and stay home to have another child, she refused to comply.

At such times, the words of her in-laws couldn’t help but plant a terrifying speculation in her heart, making her wonder whether the real reason for her baby’s loss was truly an accident, or if her sister-in-law had acted with her parents’ blessing on purpose...

Finally, during yet another instance when her in-laws nagged her to have another child, she reached the end of her tether and erupted, arguing with them for the first time in all the years of her marriage. Afterward, she moved straight back to her parental home and spent all her spare time desperately searching for her child.

What made her even more despondent was that, shortly after she moved back to her parental home, her brother’s wife, who had always spoken highly of her, began to change her attitude drastically.

The sister-in-law, seeing that she paid no heed to Zhao Jia’an’s numerous visits to take her back home and seemed set on staying at her parental house indefinitely, suddenly started to show an uglier side.

It didn’t matter that her sister-in-law had become increasingly cold and distant. What chilled her to the core was that even her own brother and widowed mother began to criticize her, subtly hinting that she should give up the search for a mere girl and that it would be better to go back to live with Zhao Jia’an and have another child.

Cao Xinyu knew it was only because Zhao Jia’an was still treating her the same as before and secretly giving her family money that she was able to continue staying at her parental home...

Before a person encounters a major crisis, it’s difficult for them to see through how sincere their relatives truly are toward them.

Cao Xinyu felt that meeting Zhao Jia’an was a stroke of luck for her. But with the child lost, especially under the care of his sister, and with the attitude of his parents and his attempts to please both sides, she couldn’t get over the hurdle in her heart. On countless nights, in her despair, she wondered how she would continue to live if the child was ultimately never found?

Holding her child, once lost but now returned, Cao Xinyu felt that her own vitality had come back with her.

Zhao Jia’an bowed his head in silence, ultimately not voicing the words "the child has already been found." This was his beloved darling, and although his parents always complained about having a daughter, he had never complained. On the contrary, because he had taken care of her himself, his affection for the child ran very deep.

Seeing his child in such a state, his heart ached no less than his wife’s. He understood her grievances against his sister and parents; he couldn’t leave his wife and child, but he equally couldn’t bring himself to resent his own family.

"Now that the child is back, let it go, if only to give her a complete and happy home. From now on, just the three of us will live separately; we won’t have to live with my parents. I won’t let them disturb us, and I won’t force you to accommodate them anymore, okay?"

Zhao Jia’an looked at Cao Xinyu with a hopeful face, carefully seeking her opinion. The separation during these past months and the exhaustion from fighting had made him truly realize how much happiness lies in a simple home with a wife and child safely by his side.

Cao Xinyu nodded with tears in her eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "Okay."

Relief washed over Zhao Jia’an. Ignoring the presence of others, he reached out and embraced both Cao Xinyu and Zhao Ziyin at the same time, tears pouring down uncontrollably.