Seeing that he could not get anything useful from Zhuang Long, Zhuang Qilin looked at the phone. He walked over and picked up the phone. Zhuang Long’s phone could only be controlled by his own fingerprints. Zhuang Qilin returned to Zhuang Long’s side with the phone. He picked up one of Zhuang Long’s fingers and swiped it on the phone screen a few times before flipping to the call record.
Zhuang Qilin called the number at the top.
Soon, the call was picked up. A serious male voice traveled from the receiver to Zhuang Qilin’s ears.
“Hello, this is the California State Prison…”
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Qilin frowned. “Hello, I… I’m Zhuang Long. You called me just now. There’s something wrong with my phone. Can I trouble you to tell me what happened just now? I didn’t hear you clearly.”
Zhuang Qilin’s voice, which was disguised as Zhuang Long, could not be heard over the phone.
The prison police officer did not suspect anything and repeated what he had said. After hearing the prison police officer’s words, Zhuang Qilin’s mouth opened wide.
Oh my god, he actually had a grandmother!
After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Qilin felt terrible.
No wonder his father’s reaction was so intense. If this happened to him, he would be frightened too.
It was fine if her mother, who had been dead for many years, was still alive, but she had to be in prison…
Zhuang Qilin sat down beside Zhuang Long. Zhuang Long was completely unaware of his arrival. He was still immersed in his thoughts. Many things flashed across his mind. Zhuang Long wanted to reach out and grab those blurry images, but he could not touch anything.
Zhuang Long’s head hurt. He hugged his head and could not help but groan. Zhuang Qilin was very worried about him. He quickly got up and placed his small hands on his father’s head. He comforted him softly, “Dad, I’ll rub your head.”
The child had never learned professional massage before. The method was ordinary, and it was not comfortable to massage him, but it was not uncomfortable either. However, it was strange that Zhuang Long’s irritated heart was actually comforted by Zhuang Qilin’s small hands.
Gradually, Zhuang Long’s head did not hurt so much.
Seeing that Zhuang Long seemed to be feeling better, Zhuang Qilin heaved a sigh of relief.
“Alright…” Zhuang Long suddenly said. Both he and Zhuang Qilin realized that there was something wrong with this voice, as if it was hoarse.
Zhuang Long smiled bitterly and said apologetically to Zhuang Qilin, “I’ve let you see an unpleasant scene again. I’m sorry, but it won’t happen again.”
“Dad, don’t say that. We’re father and son. We’re family.” Zhuang Qilin clenched his left hand into a fist and punched Zhuang Long’s shoulder. He said, “We’ll share blessings and hardships together.”
Zhuang Long’s heart warmed.
He grabbed his son’s head and rubbed it hard.
Zhuang Qilin did not blame him for messing up his hairstyle this time.
“Go back to your room and sleep.” Zhuang Long ordered Zhuang Qilin.
Zhuang Qilin nodded and slowly walked out of the room. When he reached the door, he turned around and looked at Zhuang Long. After confirming that Zhuang Long was really fine, he returned to his room. After Zhuang Qilin left, the fake calmness on Zhuang Long’s face disappeared and was replaced by a deep expression.
Tonight’s call had indeed frightened him.
However, after being frightened and calming down, the thing that made Zhuang Long feel the most afraid was that he actually could not remember his mother! This was an abnormal thing. He knew how good his memory was. He could remember almost all of the books and people he had come across.
How could he forget his biological mother!
It was obvious that something had happened in his childhood, and it was something that affected him deeply.
That incident caused him to forget his past and blur the image of his parents in his mind.
It took more than six hours to fly from New York to Los Angeles.
He had to leave overnight to get to the prison before it opened tomorrow. The prison that imprisoned Zhuang Long’s mother was called San Quentin Prison. It was located in the San Francisco Bay Area and was the largest prison in the United States. There were more than five thousand criminals imprisoned inside, many of whom were notorious criminals. A portion of them were people who had been sentenced to death.
Zhuang Long packed his things briefly and got on the plane.
He could use the internet on the plane. On the way, he searched for news about this prison. After reading the report, Zhuang Long’s mood was especially complicated.
Her mother had been imprisoned in such a big prison for 28 years. What crime had she committed?
With doubts, curiosity, and anticipation for his biological mother, Zhuang Long finally arrived in San Francisco.
He took a taxi and went straight to the prison.
The driver was a talkative black man. He was quite surprised to hear that Zhuang Long was going to prison. After sizing Zhuang Long up carefully a few times, he took the liberty to ask, “Brother, are you going to visit someone?”
Zhuang Long replied concisely, “To pick someone up.”
“Friend?”
Zhuang Long’s answer surprised the driver again.
“Mother.”
The driver was quite embarrassed. He asked again, “How long was she in there?”
“28 years.”
The driver’s mouth was open, probably in shock.
“T-That’s quite a long time.”
He did not dare to continue asking.
If he asked what crime your mother had committed, and the passenger replied, “A perverted murder.” How should he answer? Should he reply that it was real?
In order not to cause trouble for himself, the driver chose to shut up obediently.
Just like that, the driver was silent, and so was Zhuang Long. Finally, they arrived at their destination.
This prison was said to be the most valuable prison in America because it was located by the bay and occupied a good piece of land. Over the years, the government had sent a new batch of equipment to the prison. The prison here had a good living environment.
He stood at the entrance of the prison, smoking a cigarette and staring at the door that did not look like a prison. He was speechless.
The taxi driver who sent him here did not leave either. He was still hoping to send Zhuang Long and the rest back to the city.
At this moment, the prison was already at work. Zhuang Long stood outside the door for a moment and saw an old man in his seventies walking out in a casual outfit that was not very good-looking but was still neat and clean. This old man must have been serving his sentence for a long time. The way he walked had the stiffness of an old criminal in prison.
It was obvious that he was a criminal who had been tamed by prison.
Zhuang Long waited for a few more minutes before the door opened again.
This time, a woman in a gray T-shirt and black pants walked out.
Zhuang Long stared at the woman and narrowed his eyes.
The woman had an oriental face, white hair, and a thin figure. She was about 60 years old and had wrinkles on her face. She was carrying a small bag. Zhuang Long did not understand why someone who wanted to leave prison had a bag full of things.
He looked at the woman intently.
