Chapter 21 - CHILD

Soon Julien calmed down.

He looked at the adorable little doll in his arms and said with some distress: "What's your name? Where are your parents?"​​

The boy fixed his eyes on Julien: "My name is Mino Ricci. I don't have a real dad and mom."

Julien was stunned to hear grievance from this simple sentence.

Very few knew that Julien was actually quite fond of children. After all he spent a lot of time in the orphanage and often took care of the youngest ones.

The one in his arms was very well-behaved and he unconsciously wanted to talk to this cute doll some more.

Julien's tone subconsciously softened: "What are you doing here all alone? Where are you living?"

Mino bit his lips and rubbed against Julien's neck as he whispered: "Today is my birthday and I wanted to go buy a present for myself. I live with my foster mom and she is busy with other kids."

Lucius got out of the car. His face was deathly pale and his eyes were wide.

He almost ran over a child on the street and felt guilty. Thankfully, he did not hit the boy, but a situation like that flooded his body with adrenaline and was contributing to his anxiety.

Lucius took a deep breath, held it for 3 seconds and slowly let it out. He did that a couple of times. Now that he was feeling a bit calmer, Lucius started to observe very closely his surroundings.

This was such a pitiful kid. A tinge of compassion arose in Julien, but before he could ask in more detail, somebody approached them.

Julien heard a deep male voice from behind: "Was it you who saved the child?"

Julien slowly turned around to face the man. His eyes widened in astonishment. He had never suspected to meet the villain so fast. The gentle smile on Lucius's face mocked him, creating a sudden chill that echoed through his body. Julien's skin triggered goosebumps that scurried up his arms and crawled along his neck. A sudden glimpse of Lucius's black eyes froze his into a trap. He couldn't escape the never-ending stare as it choked his thoughts and clogged his mind. The images of yesterday night flashed through his mind. In that moment he remembered everything very clearly.

He attempted and struggled to focus somewhere else, anywhere else, other than that black eyes sucking his into it's maze.

Julien finally snapped out of his wandering daze. He nodded: "That's right."

Lucius's gaze still lingered on Julien for a moment before turning on the little boy. His tone was polite: "We need to call the police and ask the child's family to come pick him up."

Before Julien could answer, Mino tightened the arms he wrapped around his neck and shook his head: "No! I want to go with big brother!"

Afterwards, he buried his head in Julien's arms. His resistance was very obvious.

When Julien felt how tightly the boy was clinging to him, he felt a sense of responsibility rising in his chest. Since he'd helped the boy out, then he would help to the very end.

Julien smiled at Lucius: "You see it, right? He wants me to send him back."

One big, one small. Lucius couldn't force them and had no other choice but to agree: "Well then."

Lucius opened the door at the back seat of the car and then invited them to get in.

Julien hugged and carried the child: "Okay, it's time to head back. Where's your home? Older brothers will send you back."

When the boy gave them the address, Julien got into a car and looked straight ahead, with a straight face. He glanced at Lucius as they were a strengers. Nothing was said in the end.

They were quiet along the way except for Julien softly humming. Mino soon fell asleep. When he woke up, they had arrived at his house.

The moment Mino woke up, his foster mother jogged over to him and repeatedly checked him everywhere with her hands. After confirming there was nothing wrong with him, she held him in her arms and said with excitement: "Thank goodness you're alright. You nearly scared mommy to death. You bad child, where did you run off? You didn't know to give mommy a call to tell me you're safe either. Do you want mommy to die from anger?"

As she spoke, she patted Mino's back over and over with her hand held high, but they would always land very gently. She knew with just a simple glance that the man in front of her had something to do with her son's return. She was grateful to him in her heart for helping her son out: "Thank you so much for sending my son back."

At the same time, Lucius's eyes glanced over at Julien: "I would like to talk to you. What do you say?"

The woman didn't have any reason to refuse, moreover she didn't want to. She was eager to know what had happened to her son today: "You guys are being polite. You had sent my son home, I just don't know how to thank you. Please!"

After letting him into the house, the woman had given them a glass of water. Mere fright couldn't be used to describe the look on her face after Lucius finished his explanation. Her entire body was shaking. She couldn't imagine, in less than a day, the child had actually experienced such a dreadful matter. She was grateful to Julien for saving the boy: "Thank you for saving Mino. Without you, Mino probably would have..."

She lowered her head and rubbed the tears on the corner of her eyes: "I don't know how to thank you."

Perhaps because of that life-saving situation, Mino stuck closely to Julien's side. He was so enthusiastic that even the foster mother felt jealous: "Our family's Mino is shy and timid around strangers. When I took him out in the past, he always hid behind me. But he likes you very much."

The woman paused and whispered lowly to his ear: "This child is a little bit socially anxious. The doctor said that although the condition isn't too serious, it may affect him if there isn't enough social skills training. This is my first time seeing Mino being so close to someone. If possible… could you accompany him more often?"

Julien was taken aback. He looked at Mino subconsciously and was immediately met with the little boy's sweet and soft smile. His heart softened as well and he knelt before Mino on the ground: "Alright, you just said today is your birthday, right? Then big brother will take you to the amusement park next weekend."

As his words fell, Mino turned towards Lucius with evident anticipation in his eyes.

Confronted with his expectant gaze, Lucius didn't know how he should handle this situation.

Julien studied his troubled expression and not wanting to make things difficult for Lucius, he spoke up: "Big brother is a very busy person. He may have no time to go with us."

Mino nodded, still gazing at Lucius with sparkling eyes but keeping quiet.

Lucius caught the yearning in his eyes, experienced his silence, and felt heartache for him: "I will go."