What happened next, even after so many years, still felt like a dream to Fang Li.
He wanted to step forward and ask Qin Weidong what was going on—who these people were—but Qin Weidong turned around, and Fang Li saw the bloodshot redness creeping around his eyes, a look of emotional turmoil—shock, fear, disbelief—all knotted together.
Qin Weidong restrained himself and said to Fang Li, “Go back to the hospital room. I’ll call you later.”
In that brief sentence, Fang Li could hear it clearly—he was being told to stay away. He didn’t understand why, but he stopped walking. Quietly, he replied, “Okay.”
He watched Qin Weidong walk toward them. From a distance, the elegant woman threw her arms around him and refused to let go. Her husband helped steady her. Fang Li saw someone open the car door for them, and they got in and left.
Only then did Fang Li begin to understand what had happened.
……
Inside the car, Ye Yunshan clutched Qin Weidong’s hand tightly. He looked at the crying woman, and somewhere deep in his mind—those blank spaces lost for years—flickered faintly, chaotic and out of reach.
“Weidong… back then, it was all my fault,” Ye Yunshan wept. “If I hadn’t let you go into that locker room alone… If I had gone in with you… they never would’ve kidnapped you. It’s my fault. I’ve regretted it every single day since. All these years, you’ve suffered, and it’s all because of me…!”
She was overwhelmed. From the moment her husband had told her that the police had called—that a young man’s DNA sample had matched theirs—she had been barely holding it together. There was no mistake. It was their son—the one who had been kidnapped and declared dead fifteen years ago.
Since the moment she saw him, Ye Yunshan hadn’t let go of Qin Weidong’s hand, not even once. She had even taken off her rings before coming, afraid they might scratch her son. Even though the man before her looked nothing like the little boy in her memories—even though he had grown taller than she was by far—when she hugged those broad shoulders earlier, she couldn’t hold back the flood of tears.
No one could deny the mystical, unbreakable bond between a mother and her child. It was deeper than blood and flesh. From the moment she laid eyes on him, she knew—this was her son.
Her son had come home.
Their car pulled into a quiet, upscale neighborhood with lush surroundings. Four uniformed guards stood watch at the entrance. As soon as they saw the license plates, they snapped to attention, raised the gate, and saluted as the cars passed.
In the car behind them sat Ye Yunshan’s younger brother—Qin Weidong’s uncle, Ye Peilin. When he saw his sister getting out of the car, nearly collapsing with tears, his eyes turned red as well.
“Weidong… Hold your mother carefully. You don’t know how much she’s blamed herself all these years you were gone…”
Qin Weidong supported the woman’s arm. His eyes briefly flicked to her wrist, where two faint scars could still be seen…
The miraculous return of her son, who had been missing for fifteen long years, overwhelmed Ye Yunshan emotionally. Her health had never been good to begin with—she suffered from fainting spells—and now, Qin Zhengrong had to help her back to the bedroom, where the family doctor was already waiting.
Qin Weidong sat downstairs. His uncle, Ye Peilin, handed him a cup of hot tea and took a seat beside him.
“Director Wu called us this afternoon. The DNA matched. When your father found out, he was in his office and almost collapsed. I’ve never seen him like that in all these years…”
Qin Weidong listened in silence. His mind was still a blur. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Wei Jianghe had said on the phone earlier. His instincts told him the DNA sample must have come from that blood donation in Chaojiang. But… he didn’t know how to react.
His parents…? They were people he had never even imagined.
“You were able to come home thanks to Old Wei. I hope you won’t blame your Uncle Wei for not telling you beforehand. This matter involved your father, and he was extremely cautious… He had to wait until the results were confirmed.”
Ye Peilin glanced at Qin Weidong and continued, “I know your mind must be in chaos right now. You’re wondering how this all happened. That year, your father had just been promoted to head the municipal party committee. At the time, several major criminal gangs were wreaking havoc, causing countless deaths. Your father was young and bold, willing to take on the entrenched corruption. He led a joint task force with the police and courts to crack down on organized crime… He was personally in charge. That year, many were brought to justice.”
“One of them was sentenced to death along with his entire family for manufacturing drugs. He escaped during a prison transfer. No one expected that he would go after your father for revenge—and he found an opportunity to take it out on you. You disappeared during your birthday party. The police mobilized everything they had, and eventually, they caught him at a hotel… But they couldn’t find you.”
“Your mother even knelt before him in the detention center, but he wouldn’t reveal your whereabouts, not even at the cost of his own life. Later, the police found traces of your blood in the trunk of his car…”
Qin Weidong lowered his thick lashes. In the depths of his mind, long-sealed memories began to stir. He saw a young woman kneeling down gently to adjust the bow tie on a small, well-dressed boy.
“Your mother has carried this guilt for years. We didn’t dare tell her the truth, but paper can’t hold fire. She eventually found out. She never believed you were dead. As you saw… those first two years, she completely fell apart…”
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Qin Weidong looked up. A little girl in a floral dress came running down. She looked about six, with chubby hands clutching a paper flower made in craft class.
“Big Brother…! Mommy says you’re my big brother. This flower is for you—welcome home!”
Qin Weidong’s dazed thoughts were cut short by the sweet, childish voice. Across from him, Ye Peilin also came out of his reverie and picked up the girl.
“This is Ruirui. She’s a child survivor from the major mudslide in Yunnan two years ago. She lost both her parents. For so many years, we thought you were… gone. Your parents refused to have another child. Especially your mother—she always said that having another child would be like giving up on you. She couldn’t bear the thought. She didn’t want you to come back one day and feel as if someone had taken your place. And your mother… she’s the most important person in your father’s heart.”
Qin Weidong remained silent. Memories rose like surging tides in his mind, the sound of waves crashing as fragmented recollections began to piece themselves together. Ye Peilin knew his nephew needed time to process it all.
Looking at the young man he’d finally found after so many years, he recalled how the boy used to ride on his shoulders, playing pretend cars. Fifteen years had passed in the blink of an eye. His eyes misted.
“Weidong, I’m telling you all this so you’ll know—no one in this family ever forgot you.”
As Ye Peilin finished speaking, Qin Zhengrong came down the stairs.
Father and son, separated for fifteen years, now looked at each other across the room. The blood bond was unmistakable—no words were necessary. Qin Weidong stood up.
Qin Zhengrong approached. A soldier by training, he stared at his son’s face, and even his hardened features softened with emotion. His heart was a complex swell of feelings. After a pause, he reached out to rest a hand on Weidong’s shoulder.
“You’ve grown taller. You’ve grown up.”
Qin Weidong didn’t know how to address him. For fifteen years, he had never imagined having parents. “Father” was just a vague, meaningless title.
“I heard from Jianghe that you used to work in the mines. In the past year, your work on several major projects in Chaojiang has been outstanding. The fact that you achieved all this with your bare hands… As your father, I’m proud.”
Qin Weidong’s throat tightened. “Thank you… Secretary Qin…”
He didn’t finish. Qin Zhengrong interrupted him. Even the sternest soldier couldn’t bear hearing his long-lost son call him that.
“You’re home now. Just focus on staying with your mother. Wrap up things at the company over the next couple of days. The transfer to Kunshan—put that on hold. Everything else can wait. Rest while you’re here.”
Qin Weidong looked up, searching his father’s words for hidden meaning—but before a man like Qin Zhengrong, he was still too inexperienced. Too young.
Ye Yunshan had taken the medicine the family doctor prescribed and fallen asleep. The room at the far left on the second floor was his. As he opened the door, it felt like he was unlocking a door in his memory. The soccer ball by the desk, the toy cars on the shelf—everything in the room seemed familiar, even though he couldn’t quite remember it clearly.
He sat on the bed alone and closed his eyes. After a long moment, he took out his phone and dialed Fang Li.
The call connected after just one ring.
“Qin Weidong?” Fang Li answered, breathless with worry.
Hearing his voice, all the turmoil inside Qin Weidong seemed to quiet. “Who else would you think it is?”
Fang Li let out a long breath of relief. Choked with emotion, he scolded, “You still have the nerve to joke with me…! Were they… your parents?”
“Yes,” Qin Weidong replied.
Fang Li covered the receiver, his eyes brimming with tears. He let out a small laugh. “That’s wonderful…! I knew it—Jinyang really is a big city. Your parents are both here… How are they? I saw your mom crying so much. She hasn’t seen you in years. She must have missed you terribly. And your dad?”
Qin Weidong was clear about who Qin Zhengrong was. He thought of what Zhang Bin had said about the earlier-than-expected blood donation, and the things Qin Zhengrong had just said. All his thoughts tangled together. When it came to his relationship with Fang Li… he couldn’t afford to gamble. Not even a little. He had to get ahead of it.
He said to Fang Li, “Lili, how about we switch hospitals for your surgery?”
“Switch hospitals?” Fang Li was confused. “Where to?”
“Let’s leave Jinyang.” Qin Weidong lowered his eyes. “Lili, be good. In the next few days I’ll find a way to transfer you to a hospital in Beijing—or maybe Jianjing.”
“Beijing? That far?” It was a place he’d only seen on his high school geography textbook, marked with a little star.
Qin Weidong said, “It’s only temporary, Lili. I’ll have Feng Hui go with you, so you won’t be scared. Okay?”
Fang Li pouted a little. “Do we really have to?” He thought it was because the doctors at the provincial hospital still hadn’t finalized a treatment plan. After a pause, he said, “Alright, then. You just found your parents, Weidong. You should spend time with them—I understand. But… before the surgery, could you come be with me?” He was truly terrified of going into surgery alone. He wasn’t trying to compete with Weidong’s parents.
Qin Weidong said softly, “I’ll be there. I promise.”
Fang Li asked again, “Before I transfer hospitals… can I go visit Waves Music one last time?”
Qin Weidong said, “No.”
An answer just as expected. Looking at the phone in his hand, he said to Fang Li, “It’s late. Go to bed. Get some good rest.”
Fang Li nodded and reminded Qin Weidong to spend time with his parents, to talk with them more, not to be so stingy with his words like he usually was. Now that his mom and dad had found him, they’d surely be thrilled to hear him talk.
Qin Weidong listened to Fang Li’s gentle voice and replied that he understood. After hanging up, he deleted their call history. Then, he made several phone calls, calling in favors from the network he’d built back in Chaojiang. He finally found a top-tier hospital in Beijing, one equal in rank to the provincial hospital. He called Feng Hui, who was still half-asleep, and instructed him to prepare the necessary paperwork over the next couple of days and take Fang Li to handle the transfer procedures—as soon as possible.
Before Feng Hui could even ask why it was so urgent, there was a knock at the door.
Qin Weidong hung up and opened it. Standing there was Ye Yunshan, holding a cup of hot milk. She handed it to him and said, “You used to drink this every night when you were little…”
Qin Weidong still didn’t quite know how to face his mother. He knew how much she had given over the years. Bowing slightly, he accepted the milk from her hands. “…Thank you…”
Hearing his voice, Ye Yunshan wiped the tears from her cheeks. So many days and nights she had waited like this, standing with a cup of milk, hoping to see her son at his desk again, just like before…
She wiped her tears and managed a smile. “No more crying. I must’ve scared you earlier, didn’t I? I was just so happy. I even got some clean clothes ready for you. You must be tired—see if they fit…”
She took his hand and led him into the walk-in closet. When she opened one of the wardrobes, what surprised Qin Weidong was that it was packed full of clothes—from ages six or seven, all the way up to twenty. Inside were entire sets of school uniforms from junior high and high school, basketball jerseys, tracksuits, shirts, slacks, even a graduation gown for college photos.
“Every year, I’d buy clothes for you and keep them here, just waiting for you to come back. I didn’t know you’d grow this tall—taller than your dad. But this set should fit…”
She held up an outfit against him and saw that the sleeves and pant legs were just right. Her voice trembled as she smiled and said, “This one fits perfectly… That night, I was thinking—after National Day, it’ll be your birthday. Your dad is tall, and so is your grandpa. You’d probably grow tall too…”
Her son’s features, his build, his shoulders—through all these years, she had turned them over and over in her mind on sleepless nights. And today, at last, her son had come home…!
Qin Weidong accepted the clothes. They felt heavy in his hands, just like the feeling in his chest—an indescribable ache. He and Ye Yunshan shared the purest of bonds, mother and son tied by blood. He could feel it clearly: this woman truly loved him.
Just like Ye Peilin had said—there would always be a place for him in this home.
But what about Fang Li?
That was a gamble Qin Weidong couldn’t take.
Axolotl Translations 
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