The Entire Village in an Uproar

As one of the most developed cities in the south, Tianhe City had built its now magnificent international airport as early as a decade ago.

The international flight 1182, flying directly from the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East to Tianhe Airport, arrived at nearly six o'clock in the afternoon.

The plane landed, and moments later.

At the exit of Tianhe Airport, an ordinary-looking young Chinese man wearing sunglasses walked out. The military rucksack on his back was somewhat exaggerated; if not for his considerable height, Li Changjiang would have almost thought he would be entirely swallowed up by this behemoth of a backpack.

It reached at least half his body height.

That bastard Polica was certainly reliable, but damn it, he was *too* reliable. Li Changjiang had merely mentioned that he wanted a large size, who would have thought that the large size would turn out like this.

"Lucia—Lucia—"

After passing through the exit's security gates, Lucia walked ahead while Li Changjiang followed behind. What drew sideways glances from people was not Li Changjiang or the oversized pack on his back, but Lucia.

Passengers walking past the two of them invariably glanced at the blond-haired, blue-eyed little girl. With her fair complexion and exquisitely delicate facial features that made it hard to look away, she was truly an adorable little darling.

However, Lucia's spirits were poor. After all, she was only a seven-year-old girl who had successively lost her family and single mother in less than half a month. Even an adult would find it difficult to accept such a blow.

"Papa—"

Hearing Lucia's voice, Li Changjiang merely frowned as many people around them began to steal sideways glances at him.

Such a young father?

Besides, judging by appearances, they didn't look like a pair of father and daughter at all.

Li Changjiang did not know why Lucia had regarded him as her father from the very beginning, but the fact was that aside from him, she was unwilling to let anyone else come close, not even Eliza.

"Come here! Take my hand, okay?"

The little darling merely nodded without speaking, obediently sliding her small hand into Li Changjiang's palm. It felt somewhat chilly. August in Tianhe City should have been an extremely scorching season, as evident from the thin sleeves worn by the coming and going crowds around them.

Yet Lucia's hands being so icy cold surely meant something was amiss. Frowning slightly and ignoring the probing gazes wandering back and forth, Li Changjiang quickly set the heavy rucksack on the ground and squatted down in front of Lucia.

"Hey! My little angel, are you not feeling well?"

The little one shook her head!

Then suddenly nodded again.

Li Changjiang was momentarily baffled. Was that a yes or a no? He was left somewhat confused by Lucia.

Reaching out, he pressed the back of his hand against the little girl's forehead to test her temperature. Lucia did not have a fever, but her small hands were far too cold. As for Lucia calling him "papa," Li Changjiang didn't really mind; during this period, he had almost grown accustomed to the little one clinging to him constantly.

People always quickly alter their mindset in an unfamiliar environment and rapidly adapt to a new habit, something even someone with as firm a will as Li Changjiang could hardly avoid.

Polica had once brought in a psychologist to examine Lucia's physical and mental condition, and the results confirmed Li Changjiang's guess: in her subconscious, Lucia had superimposed the image of the father she imagined onto Li Changjiang. The prior loss of Lina had only intensified this psychological perception, solidifying it in place.

According to the doctor, unless Lucia actively confronted those painful memories deep in her heart, this notion would not simply vanish.

To put it another way, as long as Li Changjiang did not use external force to forcefully change Lucia's perception, and no one else guided her otherwise, Lucia would default to treating Li Changjiang as her father.

It was a terrifying yet helpless situation!

Since Louis and Lina were both dead, apart from finding Lucia's other relatives, it was impossible for anyone else to guide her.

"Wow! Look at that foreign little girl, she's so adorable!"

"Too cute! Aww!"

"Why is she calling that man dad? She doesn't look like a mixed-race child, the two of them look nothing alike!"

Soon.

Men and women emerging from the airport, especially some of the younger people, immediately noticed Li Changjiang squatting in front of Lucia.

However, Li Changjiang clearly paid no attention.

Lucia's English was not entirely fluent, but communicating with him posed no problem; it was just that whenever she became emotional, a torrent of French would burst from her lips.

Fortunately, this time Lucia did not show any prominent emotional fluctuations. She spoke very little, and being a child after all, once she left the airport, her attention was quickly captured by the novel things around her she had never seen before. Yet a new topic soon left Li Changjiang somewhat speechless.

"Papa! Did Lina go to heaven?"

Heaven?

To a seven-year-old girl, Lucia did not yet understand the meaning of death. She only knew from Li Changjiang's explanation that it was a very, very long time, and understood that Mommy had turned into an angel and gone to heaven.

"Yes, because God needs Lina to help Him with some things, so He turned her into an angel."

"Why turn into an angel?"

Lucia seemed to possess an unusual persistence regarding this question, and before Li Changjiang could answer, the little darling had already muttered another question to herself.

"Is it only angels who can go to heaven?"

He nodded.

Li Changjiang had to admit that Westerners' faith-based education was indeed formidable, deeply ingrained in people's hearts and instilled from a very tender age.

Yet extremes meet, and nothing is purely advantageous. For instance, right now, upon hearing Lucia's next sentence, Li Changjiang was momentarily left speechless.

"Then can I go to heaven to find Lina? I miss her so much! Papa, can you take me to heaven to find Lina?"

What the hell!

Go to heaven?

He hadn't lived enough yet and certainly had no desire to go meet that old man God.

The expression on Li Changjiang's face became somewhat wry, yet when he saw Lucia's wide blue eyes and the wronged, expectant look on her small face, the tiny soft spot in his heart was instantly melted.

"Yes, but we have to wait a very, very long time. Lina is working there, and we can't go interrupt her, right?"

The little darling did not nod immediately, choosing instead to ponder.

She seemed to be weighing whether the words of the "papa" before her were true or not. It was hard to imagine that a seven-year-old girl would wear such an expression, and Li Changjiang instantly felt that he perhaps truly ought to raise Lucia.

Concluding this meaningless yet crucial conversation, the two of them soon transferred within Tianhe City to catch the high-speed rail from Tianhe to Nanjiang.

After a winding journey, it was nearly 7:00 AM the next morning when they caught the long-distance passenger bus from County A to Shili Village. By the time the two of them finally stepped through the doorway, it was already well past 9:00 AM.

The pack on Li Changjiang's back was indeed a military rucksack, but it did not belong to Chinese military equipment; rather, it was Russian gear.

The person was still the same person.

Yet what on earth was the deal with suddenly bringing back a foreign doll?

The couple Li Lin and Liu Fen were instantly frightened out of their wits, while Li Ke, on the contrary, was completely captivated by the foreign child her older brother had brought home.

She was simply too cute.

"What did you say? She calls you dad? No, no! This is completely upside down! Mom is telling you, Changjiang, your father and I won't interfere with whoever you marry or whether you have boys and girls, but what on earth are you doing bringing back a foreign doll? Didn't you go to the military? How could there be a foreigner's child in the army? What kind of nonsense is this?"

Liu Fen blew her top.

Her attitude was fiercely resolute; she adamantly refused to let her son Changjiang adopt this foreign child who looked just like a foreign doll.

"Mom—"

"No! I'm telling you, Changjiang, I do not agree! Whoever she is, I don't agree. What a fine mess you've made, out of everyone you could find you had to pick a foreign doll. Right, what about Mengyao? If you bring home a child, what happens to Mengyao?"

"Mom, it's not what you think."

In less than an hour.

Almost the entire village of Shili immediately learned that Changjiang, the son of the Li family, had returned, and he had even brought back a foreign doll.

The entire village instantly buzzed with commotion.