Chapter 38: The Worst Possible Strategy

Chapter Thirty-Eight: A Desperate Gambit

As soon as he spoke, Qin Ruonan’s heart skipped a beat, her nerves instantly tightening. Beside her, An Changpu’s expression was equally severe, his gaze fixed on the "jowly man" who was supporting Qian Yuling’s arm.

Qian Yuling was currently like a pile of wet mud; without the jowly man holding her up from behind, she would likely have collapsed onto the floor, unable to stand at all. Her face was drenched in tears, seemingly immersed in despair and agony. However, she showed no signs of shrinking away or fear toward the man, which gave An Changpu and Qin Ruonan at least a small measure of reassurance.

At the very least, it seemed the jowly man and Qian Yuling were on the same side, and he was unlikely to pose a threat to her safety.

"Sit down and talk."

An Changpu pulled two chairs over from the desk. The jowly man helped Qian Yuling into one before taking a seat himself. After sitting, he even carefully adjusted her posture to make her more comfortable. From an observer's perspective, however, given Qian Yuling’s current mental state, she likely had no awareness of whether she was comfortable or not.

Yet, this inadvertent detail revealed the man’s care for her.

Once they were both seated, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan sat as well. Since the man had claimed he was here to surrender, it was better to let him and Qian Yuling lead the conversation.

Whether it was because his thoughts aligned with theirs or because he was simply too impatient to wait, the man spoke the moment they settled.

"My name is Zuo Dali. She is my cousin, and her mother is my aunt." The jowly man began with an introduction, clarifying his relationship with Qian Yuling. "I’m here today to help my cousin get things cleared up."

Having said that, he nudged Qian Yuling, hoping to stir some spirit in her. It was clear from his tone that Zuo Dali—as he should now be called—was not as rough-minded as his rugged appearance suggested; with a few simple sentences, he had deftly shifted the responsibility for explaining the situation onto Qian Yuling.

Unfortunately, Qian Yuling remained like a soul lost, doing nothing but weeping incessantly, refusing to utter a word.

Zuo Dali felt helpless. He glared at Qian Yuling with a hint of resentment for a moment before finally giving up on his original intention. He turned to An Changpu and Qin Ruonan and said, "Forget it. My cousin has truly been through too much suffering lately. It looks like she can’t speak, so I’ll tell you. Actually, my 'surrender' from earlier wasn't quite accurate. We’re mainly here to explain things to avoid any unnecessary trouble—especially for me."

"Go ahead, then." An Changpu nodded at Zuo Dali, offering no questions or pressure, waiting patiently for him to speak.

Zuo Dali pointed at Qian Yuling and dropped a startling statement: "My cousin previously asked me to help her kidnap her son, Fang Wan."

As he finished, he paused, as if waiting for a reaction. The office fell into an eerie silence, save for the sound of Qian Yuling’s stifled sobs and the ticking of the wall clock.

Qin Ruonan looked at An Changpu, whose eyes were filled with the same surprise and confusion she felt. Qian Yuling was Fang Wan’s biological mother; why would she hire her distant cousin to kidnap her own son? This meant that Fang Da’s earlier report—that he had seen Fang Wan with Zuo Dali, being pulled along reluctantly—was likely true.

Furthermore, Zuo Dali had just admitted that they were here to clear things up to avoid trouble, which implied that the kidnapping he mentioned had not gone according to plan.

What on earth had happened?

Zuo Dali remained silent for a moment. When no one asked, he continued on his own: "Here is the thing. When my cousin divorced that man surnamed Fang, she was confused and agreed to leave the child with the Fang family. Later on, the Fangs didn't act right; they poisoned the relationship between my cousin and her son. The boy wasn't close to her, but that wasn't the main point. The point was that they didn't treat the boy well. Especially that Fang Da—after marrying a young, pretty wife, he hardly paid any attention to his son. So, my cousin wanted to regain custody."

Hearing this, and combining it with Fang Da’s account and the facts they had already gathered, Qin Ruonan could roughly guess the rest. Fang Da must have refused to give up custody, and Qian Yuling, left with no other options, had plotted a kidnapping to prove Fang Da’s negligence, intending to use it as leverage to petition the court for custody later.

Zuo Dali’s following words confirmed her suspicions: "The Fang man wouldn't hand over custody. My cousin begged him many times to no avail. She had no choice but to come to me. I initially thought it would be easy—if that guy was being arrogant, I’d just let him see whose fist was harder. But Sister Yuling said no. She said if I did that, the Fang family would have a reason to deny her custody, and we would be on the defensive. She had a plan: she wanted me to take the boy once winter break started, drive him around for a few days, and then bring him back. She would use that opportunity to confront Fang Da."

"Drive him around? Where to?" An Changpu asked.

"That's hard to say," Zuo Dali replied. Seeing the confusion on their faces, he quickly explained, "Oh, it’s like this: I’m a truck driver. I haul cargo and often drive to other cities. Sister Yuling told me to find a place not too far away, somewhere I could return from in two or three days. That way, the time wouldn't be too long, the kid wouldn't be unhappy—we’d just play it off as taking him out for some fun—and it would prevent the boy from being missing too long, which might cause the Fang family to make a big scene and call the police, causing me trouble."

Qin Ruonan listened silently, finding a flaw in the logic: "But what about after you returned? If you were counting on this as proof of negligence, it wouldn't hold water. If Fang Da found out you had orchestrated it, he would have every reason to pursue you for legal trouble, and it wouldn't count as his negligence. You would only face trouble, not a path to victory."

"Exactly, that’s what I thought too. But Sister Yuling said that after we returned, she wouldn't let the child go back to the Fang family, so they would never find out. I wasn't fully convinced, but she said there was still time to consider it carefully. She was determined to do this; she had to get custody back. She told me she’d take all the blame and wouldn't drag me into it. Sister Yuling has always looked after me since we were kids. We’re both from C City, but my job keeps me away most of the year, so we hadn't kept in touch much. I felt bad about that, and my parents were always nagging me. Since she asked for help, I couldn't refuse. After all, we’re family. She wouldn't dump the trouble on me in the end—she’s not that kind of person. But who could have guessed? Before we even did anything, the kid actually went missing! Now we’re both in a position where we can’t explain ourselves, having brought this massive trouble upon ourselves for nothing!"

As Zuo Dali spoke, he glanced at Qian Yuling. Despite his rough, menacing appearance, his speech was meticulous. He was clarifying the situation and exonerating himself while simultaneously reminding the sobbing Qian Yuling that it was she who had pulled him into this mess, and that she couldn't just cry and play the victim without acknowledging his plight.

It seemed Fang Da remembered Zuo Dali’s face clearly enough, but he had erred in his initial judgment of the man. This guy was definitely not just some brawny, simple-minded brute. Qin Ruonan mused to herself, even suspecting that from the moment Zuo Dali agreed to Qian Yuling’s request, he might have already been calculating how to bail out and break his promise.

"Did you ever have contact with Fang Wan alone? I mean, without Qian Yuling present," An Changpu asked.

"Yes, I did," Zuo Dali admitted without hesitation. "I went to see the kid a few times privately. I wanted to talk to him. After all, I’m his cousin-uncle. I wanted to persuade him—or maybe win him over—to get him closer to Sister Yuling. If I could get the kid to ask for it himself, wouldn't it be easier for everyone? I’d heard that at Fang Wan’s age, if a child wants to live with their mother, the court takes that into account. That would have been better for my cousin."

Qian Yuling, who seemingly hadn't known about this, stopped crying and looked at him with slight surprise.

"And what was the result of those talks?"

"What do you think! I probably shouldn't say this, but that kid is a real little ingrate! He thought his mother was poor, that she couldn't give him good food or a nice place to live, and he had no desire to live with her. I tried a few times, bought him good food and treats, but the brat didn't want to see me. He’d run the moment he saw me, and I had to physically block his path just to get a word in. Anyone watching would have thought I was a kidnapper! Oh, right, one time Fang saw us, and I was afraid of causing trouble for Sister Yuling, so I left immediately."

Zuo Dali spat in frustration. "Sometimes I regret agreeing to this! If he were a good kid, risking it for my cousin would have been worth it! But this kind of kid—materialistic and ungrateful—it’s just not worth it. Same as his dad! Both of them are selfish, self-centered jerks!"

"Don't talk about my son like that!" Qian Yuling suddenly spoke up, her dried eyes welling up with tears again. "I regret it so much now! I admit my motives were impure, and I admit I wanted to scheme against Fang Da. None of this has anything to do with Dali; I am solely responsible, and I am willing to bear the consequences. I only have one wish now: for my son to return safely! These past few days, I keep thinking it’s all my fault. My brain must have been possessed to come up with such a desperate, foolish gamble—it was like cursing him! I’m willing to give up custody. Let him live with whoever he wants! I just pray he comes back safely!"