Ch. 17 Difficult Choice

"What? Lori gave no reaction? Are you sure?" Anxia couldn't believe what she had heard from her friend.

"I'm sure. Lori just lowered her head without looking at me, and she didn't make a sound either. Qiao Qiao, what exactly does the sentence I say to her mean? Why do I feel like you're threatening her."

Anxia snorted sarcastically at her friend's accusation. How could she have the heart to threaten her baby? Her only baby girl in this world.

"I didn't threaten her. I'm just saying, if she doesn't come back right now, I'll be the one to pick her up tonight in the grandest fashionable way."

"Ooo," was all that could come out of Ling Meng's mouth. "But why didn't she react? Usually, she will come straight home and convince you not to go to the house she visited."

It was customary for Anxia to pick up Lori at the neighbor's house. However, the way to pick her up was unusual. Anxia would pick Lori up in the middle of the night when everyone else was sleeping, then take Lori home secretly.

That's why Lori wakes up easily once there's movement around her. Lori was quick to respond when someone moved her body while she was sleeping.

Unfortunately, Anxia didn't just pick up Lori. Her mother always threatened the house owner first before bringing Lori home. Because of her threats, no one else wants to accept Lori to stay the night.

Lori was a sweet and loveable child, so everyone, including the neighbors in the apartment next door, was willing to let Lori stay at their place.

Lori herself prefered to live in a warm family than with her mother. Lori did love her mother, but as soon as Ling Meng came home, her mother was more focused on Ling Meng than she was.

Not only that, the two adult women were always talking about things she didn't understand. Like blueprint maps, illegal smuggling, and so on. Anyway, extremely boring stuff.

And whenever Lori called her mother, Ling Meng always took her mother's attention and pretended she wasn't there. That was why she disliked Ling Meng so much and thought she was a bad influence on her mother.

When Ling Meng wasn't around, her mother always cared for and loved her. Her mother always prioritized her over her work. But once Ling Meng came… Lori was no longer her mother's priority.

Thus, whenever Ling Meng came to the house, Lori preferred to play at the neighbor's place. And every time Ling Meng stayed at her house, Lori wanted to stay with her neighbors. Of course, Anxia never allowed her to sleep in a place other than her home. Hence, Anxia always picked her up in a strange way making all her neighbors always send her home right after dinner.

'I'll pick you up tonight if you don't come home with Mengmeng.'

This was a message from her mother in Arabic. The newest language she had just learned while living in Arabic a few months ago.

Usually, Lori immediately obeyed because she didn't want to scare her neighbors or avoid her. But strangely, the girl didn't react and sat quietly on the man's lap.

"That girl. She seems sure that bastard won't be afraid of me coming tonight."

"Of course. Richard Calvin couldn't have been afraid of you breaking into his house. I think he already knows that Lori is his daughter."

"What? That's not possible. How did you know?"

"My instincts told me."

"..." Anxia bit her lip in frustration. Usually, her best friend's instincts were so accurate that they made her even more nervous. She became more and more afraid – afraid that the man would snatch her daughter away.

"Hey, calm down. If the man already knew, wouldn't this be better? You can let him take care of her and concentrate on the mission. Now…"

"No. I can't concentrate. I'll pick her up." Anxia was about to walk out to the mansion where her daughter was, but her friend grabbed her hand.

"Qiao Qiao, have you gone mad!? Let go of your daughter. Master Yu is already starting to suspect you have a child. Aren't you afraid they'll recognize Lori? The child is much safer with her father than with you!"

Anxia's pair of black eyes reddened hearing that. Not because of crying, but because of a wave of tremendous anger.

"You think I don't know that! I have to let go, but I can't! I just can't! I have to be with Lori! Even if master finds out about her existence, I will protect her with my life!"

"You really are foolish, do you know that? You think you can fight Master Yu just like that?" Ling Meng gripped Anxia's shoulders tightly, trying to convince her super stupid friend. "Qiao Qiao, listen to me. We almost made it. We almost found your mother's location. If you leave now and Master Yu's men notice you're here, our efforts will be in vain."

"…"

"Think about this. Lori is safe under her father's protection, while your mother is still not safe, and we are close to finding her. So let's finish this mission and find your mother first. Only then do we think of a way to get Lori back. Okay?"

The question is… is her mother even still alive?

She heard rumors that her mother had died in a mental hospital. But master Yu sent her a photo of her mother shopping in Frankfurt to lure her into accepting his mission.

The man managed to convince her that her mother was still alive and living happily under his tutelage. If Anxia refused the mission, Master Yu would kill her mother mercilessly, and surely, Anxia wouldn't be able to track her body.

Between her mother or her daughter… which one would she choose?

It's a really tough option, but…

"Okay. I'll listen to you."

Ling Meng sighed relief at her friend's final decision. She loosened her grip and turned to check her laptop. She turned around, her eyeballs were pulled up due to the stinging on her head, and her body fell before blackening out.

Anxia had tapped the nerve point of her consciousness to make her friend faint.

"I'm sorry, I can't choose. If I had to choose, I would choose both." then she walked out and immediately headed to the mansion to pick up her daughter.