The two said no more and began to quickly restore the room to its original state.

Xu Xinghe re-hung the clothes in the wardrobe and arranged the items in the drawers neatly according to the angles she remembered.

Jiang Linchuan pushed the desk drawer back into place, wiped away the faint fingerprints he had left with his finger, and checked the floor again to make sure no debris had fallen.

After confirming that the room was exactly the same as when they came in, Jiang Linchuan walked to the window, gently pushed it open a crack, turned back and gave Xu Xinghe a reassuring gesture, and then climbed out of the window.

Xu Xinghe walked to the window and was about to close it when she noticed a fresh leaf stuck to the windowsill.

It must have been brought in by Jiang Linchuan when he climbed over the wall.

She immediately picked up the leaves, opened the window, and threw them into the yard. She then wiped the windowsill with her fingers to make sure no traces were left before gently closing the window and drawing the curtains.

Back in the room, Zhang Qianqian was still fast asleep, breathing evenly, showing no signs of waking up.

She walked to the bedside, carefully checked her clothes to make sure they were free of dust or debris, then gently lifted the covers and lay down on the bed.

In the darkness, Xu Xinghe opened her eyes, feeling a little excited.

They finally found a portion of the top-secret documents, bringing them one step closer to completing their mission.

...

Night passed, but dawn was not yet fully breaking.

There was only a faint sliver of sunlight outside the window.

Xu Xinghe was awakened by a rustling sound.

She suddenly opened her eyes, subconsciously sat up, and carefully walked out of the room, only to meet the gaze of Jiang Linchuan, who was coming out of Zhang Qiang's room.

His hair was a little messy, which meant he had just arrived.

Jiang Linchuan made a shushing gesture and lowered his voice, saying, "I didn't sleep after I got back yesterday. I copied the contents of the document overnight and brought it back before dawn. It's safer to leave it in its original place so that Zhang Qiang won't get suspicious."

Xu Xinghe nodded, and was about to say something when she suddenly heard clear footsteps coming from the courtyard, along with Zhang Qiang's signature cough.

Zhang Qiang actually came back ahead of schedule!

Both of their expressions changed simultaneously. Jiang Linchuan immediately turned and ran to the window, quickly pushed it open with his fingers, and jumped out. His movements were swift and silent.

Xu Xinghe walked quickly to the window, confirmed that Jiang Linchuan had safely evacuated, and then quickly glanced around the room.

The curtains were drawn neatly, the floor was free of clutter, and there was nothing unusual to be seen. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief, turn around and go back to the bed, lie down with my back to the door and facing the wall, close my eyes, and pretend to be fast asleep.

A few seconds later, the door to the room was gently pushed open, and Zhang Qiang walked in.

He had originally wanted to check if his daughter had woken up, but he was surprised to find another person lying in the bed. He froze on the spot, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes.

But he quickly regained his composure, without disturbing the two of them. He quietly left the room and turned to walk back to his own room.

Xu Xinghe could clearly hear the faint sounds coming from Zhang Qiang's room.

He's checking!

Her heart was in her throat, and her fingers gripped the blanket tightly, afraid that Jiang Linchuan would leave traces when he returned the documents.

About ten minutes later, the noise from Zhang Qiang's room stopped.

Another hour later, the bell for the educated youth to start work rang, breaking the tranquility of the early morning.

Xu Xinghe pretended to have just woken up, stretched, and deliberately made some noise.

Zhang Qianqian, who was next to her, was also woken up by the ringing. She groggily opened her eyes, rubbed them, and mumbled, "So sleepy... I want to sleep a little longer..."

The side effects of the sleeping pills left her feeling weak all over, and even opening her eyes was difficult.

"Then you can sleep a little longer, I'm going to work now." Xu Xinghe said as she quickly put on her clothes, but in her mind she was thinking about how to explain to Zhang Qiang that she was here.

As soon as she stepped out of her room, she saw Zhang Qiang sitting in a chair in the living room, drinking tea and holding a newspaper in his hand.

Xu Xinghe screamed and instinctively took a step back, her face showing a look of panic.

In fact, she had already seen Zhang Qiang through the crack in the door; the scream was just an act to make it seem more natural.

"Captain Zhang? You...when did you get back?" Xu Xinghe quickly apologized, her voice full of embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, I stayed in Qianqian's room overnight without telling you, and I almost scared you..."

Zhang Qiang put down the newspaper in his hand, a gentle smile appearing on his face, and said casually, "It's nothing, I just got back this morning. What are you doing here?"

"Qianqian said she was scared to sleep alone and asked me to come and keep her company." Xu Xinghe lowered her head, pretending to be a little embarrassed. "I was planning to tell you today, but I didn't expect you to come back so early."

“Yes, Qianqian is indeed a bit timid. I feel at ease with you by her side.” Zhang Qiang smiled and pointed to the door. “The work bell has rung. You should hurry up and not be late.”

"Okay, thank you, Captain Zhang! I'll be going now!" Xu Xinghe nodded quickly and walked out of the Zhang family's gate.

She didn't dare to look back until she had walked out of the courtyard.

Zhang Qiang was still sitting in the living room, holding a newspaper, and seemed perfectly normal.

Xu Xinghe breathed a sigh of relief and walked quickly towards the educated youth settlement.

She pushed open the dormitory door, and Zhao Xiaoyan had already tidied up and was sitting on the edge of the bed tying her shoelaces.

Seeing her come in, Zhao Xiaoyan immediately looked up, her eyes full of curiosity, and leaned over to ask, "Li Juan, how did you sleep at Captain Zhang's house yesterday? His family's conditions must be much better than ours at the educated youth settlement, right? At least you don't have to squeeze into a shared bed, and you can sleep under a clean, thick quilt."

As Xu Xinghe took off her coat and hung it on the hanger, she nodded with a smile, "The conditions are indeed a bit better. Qianqian's room is very clean, and the quilt is soft. But it's all the same wherever you stay, as long as you can get a good night's sleep."

As she spoke, her gaze unconsciously swept over Wang Lili's bed.

Wang Lili was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), her hair disheveled, her eyes staring blankly at the ground, her face devoid of color. She had completely lost her previous strange and eccentric appearance, instead exuding a sense of utter despondency and hopelessness.

Presumably, it was his words that completely shattered Wang Lili's confidence and made her lose the will to cause trouble.

She didn't look any longer, turned around and took out her farm tools from her cloth bag. "Stop chatting, it's almost time to go to work, let's hurry up and get going, or we'll be late."

Zhao Xiaoyan also noticed that something was wrong with Wang Lili. Without saying anything, she stepped forward to help her up. "Let's go. We don't know how long we'll have to stay here. Are you going to stay like this forever?"

Wang Lili then turned her eyes, quickly tidied her hair, and silently followed behind the two.