"They took Mama away… please save her…"
Her innocent cry and those words struck him hard.
Gao Xufan's mind went blank.
His hand, still holding the glass, trembled violently. The liquid inside rippled, nearly spilling over.
His gaze dropped slowly to his daughter, then lifted again toward Ye Chen.
Fear, real and undisguised, finally surfaced in his eyes.
"W-what did you say…?" His voice was hoarse, barely holding together.
"Who… took Han Mei?"
"Uwaaah… those strange uncles… they were so scary…"
Little Mimi clung to Gao Xufan's legs as she sobbed uncontrollably, her small body trembling with every breath. Her fingers tightened around his clothes as if she were afraid that if she let go, even he would be taken away.
"Mom was crying… she told me to run… but they hit her…"
Her broken words came out in fragments, mixed with hiccups and tears, but each sentence struck Gao Xufan like a blade twisting deeper into his chest.
His body froze.
