Chapter 3: Xiaoman Is a Little Lucky Star

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Xiaoman shook her head. "Xiaoman is not a little monster! Xiaoman doesn’t deserve to die!"

Tang Zheng almost shouted at her, "If you can understand what the little black cat says, and it clearly knew your brother was drowning, why didn’t it come to you to save him?"

Xiaoman rolled up her sleeves and pant legs, revealing old scars crisscrossing her wrists and legs. "Aunt Duan Mei would prick me with needles and hit me with a brush whenever she saw me near my brother..."

Tang Zheng deflated like a burst balloon. "That’s impossible! You’re lying! You’re lying—"

Zhou Lin didn’t want to see Tang Zheng become hysterical in the hospital ward. He waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to take Tang Zheng away.

Medical staff also rushed Duan Mei to emergency treatment. The ward fell silent once again.

Zhou Lin looked thoughtfully at Xiaoman. Xiaoman tugged at his sleeve, "Uncle, Xiaoman is not a little monster. Xiaoman can just understand what animals say."

Zhou Lin was a police officer, a staunch materialist, and naturally skeptical.

But everything that happened in the Tang family, seen on surveillance and described by Xiaoman’s animal friends, matched perfectly.

Perhaps it was all just a coincidence!

Zhou Lin crouched down and held Xiaoman’s small hands. "Uncle knows Xiaoman is a lovely and kind little girl. You were very brave just now!"

Xiaoman stared at the police badge on his cap. "When Xiaoman grows up, she wants to be a police officer just like you."

The eyes that had once been injured now sparkled brightly, shining like stars in the night sky.

"Good! Uncle looks forward to your joining!" Zhou Lin, usually poker-faced, nodded with a rare smile.

After that, Zhou Lin returned to the police station to work while Xiaoman stayed in the hospital to recover.

People from the Juvenile Protection Center came to keep her company with drawing and singing. As dusk fell, Xiaoman eagerly awaited Zhou Lin’s arrival.

Zhou Lin arrived late. The evidence for Tang Zheng’s child abuse case was complete, and he had confessed; they were just waiting for the judgment to take effect. The main problem was that no evidence had yet been found to prove Duan Mei’s abuse of Xiaoman.

At nine at night, when Zhou Lin arrived at the hospital ward, Xiaoman suddenly threw herself into his arms. "Uncle, Xiaoman missed you so much!"

Zhou Lin picked her up. "Xiaoman, did you eat dinner tonight?"

Xiaoman nodded immediately. "Xiaoman ate a big bowl of rice. Xiaoman wants to grow up quickly and be a mighty and formidable police officer like you. Then Dad and Aunt Duan Mei won’t dare to hit me anymore!"

Zhou Lin felt a twinge of sadness. Though he had no children, he despised adults who abused kids more than beasts.

"Don’t worry, Xiaoman. With Uncle here, no one will dare to hit you again."

"Having you is so good!" Xiaoman laughed softly. "The aunties at the Juvenile Protection Center told me that Dad was arrested for hitting me, Mom disappeared, and I have no guardian. I won’t live at the Tang family anymore. They said they’ll send me to a welfare center. Will I still be able to see you every day?"

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The little girl’s innocent eyes were full of hope. Zhou Lin nodded firmly. "Once Uncle finishes work, he will definitely come to see you."

He held out a finger. "Let’s pinky swear!"

"Yay! Pinky swear, hanging by a thread, a hundred years no change!" Xiaoman laughed as she linked fingers with his rough hand.

Seeing how well-behaved and sensible she was, Zhou Lin felt reluctant to part with her. "Xiaoman, once you’re healed and discharged, Uncle will take you back to the Tang family to get your things, then to live at the welfare center."

"Yay!" Xiaoman smiled brightly.

When Xiaoman was discharged, Zhou Lin drove to pick her up.

Outside, it was near the Lunar New Year, and everywhere was joyful and festive. Xiaoman pressed her face against the car window, watching the brightly decorated streets fly by, bustling with celebration.

When they arrived at the Tang residence, Duan Mei stood at the door with a smiling face. "Thank you, Captain Zhou, for bringing Xiaoman back! Don’t worry, I will never let her father hit her again!"

As she spoke, she reached out to grab Xiaoman, but Xiaoman dodged, looking at Zhou Lin in confusion.

"Uncle, Auntie kept pricking me with needles and hitting me with the toilet brush. Why hasn’t she been arrested?"

Zhou Lin’s expression darkened. "Xiaoman, we haven’t found the physical evidence yet, so we can’t charge her for now."

"Cloud Covered Snow knows!" Xiaoman immediately called out.

That cat again? Zhou Lin was slightly taken aback.

A cold smile flickered across Duan Mei’s face before she feigned kindness again. "Xiaoman, you’re not a little monster. How could animals possibly talk to you?"

Xiaoman ignored her and called out in her childish voice, "Cloud Covered Snow! Cloud Covered Snow! Cloud Covered Snow!"

Usually, the little black cat would meow and rub against Xiaoman’s pants whenever it heard her voice—but now it hadn’t appeared.

Xiaoman had a bad feeling. Could it be...?

Duan Mei sighed. "They say cats are solitary and don’t recognize their owners. Xiaoman, maybe since you’re not home, it’s left."

"Cloud Covered Snow won’t leave me," Xiaoman said firmly. "Mom and I picked up Cloud Covered Snow together!"

Duan Mei’s brows twitched with excitement she couldn’t hide. "It probably went to find your mother..."

Zhou Lin’s sharp gaze pierced Duan Mei like an arrow. She really knew how to stab a child’s heart.

A flock of crows flew overhead, cawing incessantly.

[Manzai, Cloud Covered Snow is dead!]

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[Your stepmother killed it with needles!]

[It told us where the needles were hidden at the end...]

Xiaoman’s tears streamed uncontrollably. She quickly grabbed Zhou Lin’s sleeve. "Uncle, the needles Auntie used to prick me are all hidden in my brother’s baby stroller."

This was exactly the crucial evidence Zhou Lin’s team hadn’t found yet. At that moment, Duan Mei looked horrified at the baby stroller by the door.

Duan Mei quickly regained her composure. "Captain Zhou, your men have already searched the stroller. Why would you believe the nonsense of a four-year-old?"

Though Zhou Lin found it hard to believe, he didn’t want to miss this chance. "Then I’ll search it again myself."

He flipped the stroller over and over, searching every inch. Finally, hidden in the foam padding, he found a tiny, thin needle.

Xiaoman immediately shouted, "That’s the needle!"

Zhou Lin called his team to come over.

Duan Mei hadn’t expected this. She watched the crows fly away, realizing they had helped this little "monster" Xiaoman.

When Lin Nan and Gu Ye arrived, both lowered their heads in embarrassment. "Captain Zhou, sorry..."

Zhou Lin waved them off. "Arrest Duan Mei immediately. Take the evidence for testing."

When Duan Mei was put into the police car, her face was ashen. She no longer pretended to be a kind mother; her eyes were filled with hatred as she looked at Xiaoman.

"Tang Xiaoman, you’re a little jinx! A little monster! You’ve made life miserable for our whole family!"

"Xiaoman is not!" Xiaoman clenched her little fists tightly, staring in the direction the police car was driving.

Zhou Lin crouched down and covered her small hands with his rough, large palm. "Xiaoman is a little lucky star! Without her, we wouldn’t have found this needle."

"It’s all thanks to Cloud Covered Snow and the crows," Xiaoman said with a smile.

Zhou Lin recalled the cemetery, where crows flew overhead, and his police dog found the injured Xiaoman. Could it really be that this child could understand and communicate with animals?

He accompanied Xiaoman to her room to pack her things. Her walls were covered with photos of her with various animals, showing her genuine love for them.

Lin Nan called. "Captain Zhou, the test report on the needle is out..."