"Hey, what's wrong with this child?" An older woman glanced at the stroller, bent down, and reached out as if to pick up the baby. "This isn't your child, is it!"

Edward Clark originally thought she might just be a concerned bystander, but her action made him stand up instantly. People who want to take a child home to raise wouldn't be this hasty—they'd at least ask what's going on first, and check if the child is healthy.

"What are you doing?" Eric Bennett blocked her hand. "This is my little brother."

"Your little brother?" The woman looked at him, not backing down, trying to push past him. "Can you even tell me how old your brother is?"

"Fifty-seven days." Edward Clark walked over and grabbed the woman's hand.

"You're taking such a tiny child out like this?" the woman asked, pulling her hand back and stepping away.

"What business is it of yours?" Eric Bennett said.

"You two..." The woman was still unwilling to give up. "You must be human traffickers!"

"Then here's a suggestion for you," Edward Clark said, "call the police right away."

The woman didn't say anything more. After staring at them for a few moments, she turned and walked off, muttering curses under her breath.

"What was that about?" Big Tom looked completely baffled. "Trying to snatch a kid? Something's off with her."

"Maybe she just wanted to grab a kid to sell." Eric Bennett glared fiercely at the woman's back for a while, then turned around and saw Edward Clark had already sat back down by the flowerbed.

Big Tom skillfully pushed the stroller over to the side, and the two of them checked everything again, even making sure the baby was breathing.

There was no note on the stroller with the child's birthday or a plea saying they really couldn't raise the child. Other than a small blanket, there wasn't even a bottle.

This child's parents didn't care what he would face in the future, or even about erasing that little bit of his past.

"If the baby wakes up and starts crying, all we can do is stick a finger in his mouth for him to suck on," Eric Bennett sighed, sitting down next to Edward Clark.

Edward Clark didn't reply.

"What do you think is going on with this kid?" Eric Bennett asked again, glancing around as he spoke.

"His parents didn't want him, so they abandoned him," Edward Clark said. "What else could it be?"

"Why wouldn't they want him..." Eric Bennett thought for a moment. "Maybe he has some illness you can't see on the outside, and they thought he couldn't be cured. Damn."

"Some kids are just extra to their parents," Edward Clark said. "It has nothing to do with being sick or not."

Eric Bennett glanced at him. "That's a pretty harsh thing to say..."

Edward Clark didn't look at him, just stared blankly ahead.

"Or maybe it was an accidental pregnancy or something..." Eric Bennett said.

"Why do you need so many reasons." Edward Clark said.

He said it very calmly, but there was a forcefulness in his tone that made Eric Bennett frown. "What's your problem?"

"Nothing," Edward Clark said. "Even if you come up with ten thousand reasons for the parents, it doesn't mean anything to him."

"I'm just analyzing out loud. The police aren't here yet, so we're just chatting. Why are you so triggered?" Eric Bennett was a bit annoyed. "Who's making excuses for his parents? Ten thousand reasons? Are you going to help me come up with ten thousand?"

"No." Edward Clark said.

"Are you hungry or something? Is being low on food making you argumentative?" Eric Bennett said. "First time I've seen this."

Edward Clark didn't say anything. After a few seconds, he seemed to snap out of it and turned to look at him. "Sorry."

"Huh?" Eric Bennett was taken aback.

"Did the police say they'd be here soon?" Edward Clark asked.

"Yeah, of course they'll come right away for something like this," Eric Bennett said, then looked at him again. After a while, he asked, "Are your parents your biological ones?"

Chapter 5

Edward Clark laughed. "That's a pretty blunt question."

"Not as blunt as what you just said," Eric Bennett replied.

"Didn't you see that when you read my palm before?" Edward Clark looked at his own left palm.

"No, I didn't look for that, and I didn't think about it," Eric Bennett thought for a moment and lowered his voice. "So they're not?"

"They are." Edward Clark said.

"Oh." Eric Bennett responded.

The two of them didn't say anything else, just stared at the stroller together.

A few minutes later, a police car drove over. Eric Bennett jumped up and waved toward the police car. "Over here—"

A book that had been stuffed in his back pocket fell to the ground.

Edward Clark often stuffed worksheets and books in his back pocket too; he didn't like carrying things in his hands.

But Eric Bennett was different.

Edward Clark picked up the book from the ground. It was very old, the pages yellowed and almost black, but it seemed to have been well cared for—the pages were all flat, with no dog-ears.

On the cover was a drawing of a hand, with all sorts of lines on it. Even without reading the title, you could tell it was a palmistry textbook.

Didn't expect a street fortune-teller to carry reference material around... so dedicated.

"Your..." Edward Clark was about to hand the book to Eric Bennett when he had already walked over to the police.

"I made the call," Eric Bennett pointed at the stroller. "A really little baby, been sleeping the whole time."