The photograph lay flat on my desk, its edges already curling from Aunt Tran’s trembling grip.
A bright red military seal was stamped across the lower right corner.
It wasn’t an ordinary missing-person notice.
It was an internal search order.
My throat tightened.
Even after fleeing hundreds of kilometers away, Le Thua Huan had never stopped looking.
Aunt Tran folded her arms and stared at me.
“Your husband?”
I lowered my eyes.
“My ex-husband.”
She snorted.
“If he’s really your ex, why would the military search every town from here to the border?”
I couldn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know the answer either.
The Le family cared about reputation more than anything.
Maybe dragging me back was simply another way to silence the scandal before it spread.
Or perhaps…
I forced myself to stop thinking.
Hope was the most dangerous thing in the world.
The men searched the town until sunset before finally driving away.
Only after their black SUVs disappeared beyond the tea hills did I dare breathe normally again.
That night I packed everything I owned.
If this place had been exposed, I couldn’t stay.
Not with the baby growing inside me.
No…
Babies.
The old doctor in town had called me back for another examination two days earlier.
He stared at the ultrasound screen for an unusually long time.
Then he adjusted his glasses three times.
“Miss Shen…”
His expression was indescribably strange.
“I need you to stay calm.”
My heartbeat accelerated.
“Is… is there something wrong with the baby?”
He laughed instead.
“Nothing is wrong.”
“You simply have… more babies than expected.”
I blinked.
“What?”
He turned the monitor toward me.
Several tiny shadows flickered across the screen.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Five tiny heartbeats echoed through the examination room.
I completely froze.
The doctor sighed with amazement.
“I’ve delivered babies for over forty years.”
“This is the first naturally conceived quintuplet pregnancy I’ve ever seen.”
My hands instinctively covered my stomach.
Five…
There were actually five little lives growing inside me.
The doctor became serious.
“This pregnancy is extremely dangerous.”
“Your nutrition must keep up.”
“You need regular checkups.”
“And absolutely no emotional stress.”
I almost laughed.
No emotional stress?
I was hiding from half the military district with only a few thousand yuan left in my pocket.
Stress had become part of breathing.
After leaving the clinic, I stood alone beneath the tea trees for a very long time.
The mountain breeze brushed against my face.
I whispered softly.
“So…”
“I’m really going to become your mother.”
Five tiny miracles.
Five innocent children.
No matter what happened…
I would protect them.
Even if I had to give up everything.
—
Three months passed.
The pregnancy became harder to hide.
My stomach grew much faster than ordinary expectant mothers.
The neighbors all assumed I was due within another month.
Only I knew I wasn’t even halfway through.
Money disappeared even faster than my waistline.
Medical bills.
Nutrition supplements.
Rent.
Everything cost money.
Every night I stayed up drawing illustrations online until two or three in the morning.
The extra income barely covered daily expenses.
One rainy afternoon, Aunt Tran rushed into my house carrying a newspaper.
“They’re here again!”
My heart skipped.
She spread the newspaper across the table.
On the front page was another announcement.
The military was assisting in locating the missing wife of Major General Le.
No photograph this time.
Instead…
There was a reward.
Five hundred thousand yuan.
Anyone providing valid information would receive immediate payment.
I stared at the number for a long time.
Five hundred thousand.
Enough to change an ordinary family’s life forever.
Aunt Tran quietly folded the newspaper.
“You should leave.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
That evening I buried my identification papers beneath the old peach tree in the backyard.
If anyone searched the house…
They couldn’t find my real identity.
The next morning I planned to leave before sunrise.
But before dawn…
Someone knocked on the door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Three slow, steady knocks.
Not hurried.
Not violent.
My entire body stiffened.
Aunt Tran peeked through the window.
Her face immediately turned pale.
“There are soldiers outside.”
My blood ran cold.
Impossible.
How had they found me?
I quietly picked up the small kitchen knife hidden beneath the table.
If they wanted to drag me back…
I’d rather die here.
Another knock.
Then a deep male voice sounded outside.
“We’re looking for the owner.”
“It’ll only take a minute.”
I recognized that calm tone.
Even after months…
Even through a wooden door…
I recognized it instantly.
Le Thua Huan.
He had come himself.
The knife slipped from my fingers and landed silently on the floor.
Aunt Tran whispered frantically.
“What do we do?”
I forced myself to calm down.
“He doesn’t know I’m here.”
“He can’t.”
I slowly walked toward the back door.
If I crossed the tea fields before sunrise, I might still escape.
Just as I reached the backyard—
A familiar voice drifted over the wooden fence.
“Tham Chi.”
My footsteps stopped.
His voice was hoarse.
Far rougher than I remembered.
“I know you’re inside.”
Silence.
The entire world seemed to stop moving.
Rain dripped from the roof one drop at a time.
“I’ve looked for you for one hundred and seven days.”
His voice was almost exhausted.
“I’ve searched every airport.”
“Every train station.”
“Every hospital.”
“Every province.”
“I searched thirty-seven cities.”
“But I never thought…”
“You would hide somewhere this remote.”
My fingers slowly clenched into fists.
One hundred and seven days.
Had he really counted every single day?
I shut my eyes tightly.
It didn’t matter anymore.
Nothing mattered.
Behind the fence, Le Thua Huan continued speaking.
“You don’t have to forgive me.”
“You don’t even have to come home.”
“I only want to know one thing.”
His breathing became uneven.
Almost as though he feared the answer.
“When you left…”
“Were you already pregnant?”
Instinctively, my hand covered my swollen abdomen.
Tears silently rolled down my cheeks.
He knew.
Or perhaps…
He had guessed.
The backyard fell into complete silence.
Neither of us spoke.
Then, after what felt like forever, he said something so softly that it almost disappeared into the rain.
“I found the ultrasound report.”
“It was in the trash.”
“I’ve regretted that night every single day since.”
Outside the fence…
No footsteps moved.
He simply stood there.
Waiting.
Not as Major General Le.
Not as the heir of the Le family.
Just as a husband who had arrived one step too late.
