The meal was lively and everyone was very happy.

Ling Ruoke was so busy that she temporarily forgot about that terrible dream.

Finally, the momentous moment arrived.

When Ling Ruoke came out with the cake, the two children stared wide-eyed, not even blinking, as if afraid the cake would disappear in the blink of an eye.

We didn't have any candles at home, so we used six candles made from fruit peels that we then painted. The little red flames on top actually looked quite realistic.

As soon as it was put down, the two children stretched their heads over, as if they wanted to pounce on it and take a bite.

Ling Ruoke hurriedly brought out her computer from the room and opened the birthday song video. "Come on, let's sing a birthday song for Zhuang Yuqi together, okay? Zhuang Yuqi, quickly close your eyes and make a wish. Your birthday wish will definitely come true!"

Everyone started clapping and singing the birthday song along with the video. Even the children from Fu'an babbled along.

Zhuang Yuqi clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and made his only wish—I want Teacher Ling to be my mother!

When cutting the birthday cake, the two children almost got into a fight because they both wanted the little dog.

Ling Ruoke had to use a lot of persuasion to convince Fu'an to stop, and the puppy ended up being Zhuang Yuqi's pet.

After having dinner and cake, we started discussing going out for fun.

Zhuang Yuqi insisted on going to the amusement park and refused all persuasion. All the other children had been to an amusement park, but he had never been!

The winter wind was biting cold, making it really unsuitable for going to an amusement park. But since it was the birthday person, we had to compromise.

The children's skin was delicate, so Ling Ruoke applied plenty of moisturizing cream to them. She also put on hats before they went out noisily.

In this cold winter, Tan Peishi absolutely did not want to go out. But since that man had designs on Ruo Ke, she certainly couldn't let them be alone, so she had no choice but to follow him miserably.

I thought the amusement park would be deserted in such cold weather, but I was surprised to find it quite crowded. This shows that children's love for amusement parks is unstoppable, even in winter.

Fortunately, most of the thrill rides had height restrictions, so the two children couldn't participate. This put the three adults at ease.

After playing all afternoon, the children were still full of energy, while the three adults were exhausted. But seeing the children having so much fun, they couldn't bear to refuse. So the adults became the ones cheering them on and taking pictures, until their cameras were overflowing.

They didn't leave until the amusement park closed.

Unsurprisingly, dinner was at KFC. In China, McDonald's and KFC are paradise for kids!

"Teacher, can you kiss me again?" Before leaving their house, little Zhuang Yuqi looked at Ruoke hopefully and asked softly.

Ling Ruoke squatted down, cupped the child's face, and kissed him on the forehead and both cheeks.

Zhuang Yicheng took a picture of this heartwarming moment. "Thank you for letting him have such a happy birthday. Goodbye."

You're welcome. Goodbye.

After their car disappeared, Tan Peishi put her arm around Ling Ruoke's shoulder. "Ruoke, stay away from this man in the future. He has designs on you."

"Oh," Ling Ruoke replied, turning to go upstairs. She had never thought of getting closer to him before, but today was an exception.

"Hey, I'm serious, did you hear me?" Tan Peishi hurriedly caught up. She not only had to take good care of the person for the captain, but also keep an eye on them. "Did you hear me? Did you hear me?"

"..."

City B, Second Military Region Hospital.

Hospitals always seem somewhat eerie and frightening.

Huo Zhenbang shoved aside the nurse who tried to stop him and headed straight for the intensive care unit upstairs.

"Sir, you can't go upstairs. Please show your identification..."

"Get out of here!" Huo Zhenbang glared at the nurse, his eyes bloodshot. "My grandson is lying in there, and you're still talking to me about certificates? Get the hell out of here!"

Qiao Fei, the bodyguard following behind Huo Zhenbang, knew that no one could stop Huo Zhenbang at this moment, so he stepped forward to stop the nurse and said, "Miss Nurse, this is the grandfather of the patient Huo Qingfeng. He just returned from abroad. If you have any questions, you can contact your hospital director."

Upon hearing that the man was the colonel's father, the general's father, the nurse turned pale with fright and immediately dialed the dean's office. The dean's hair had practically turned white from worry because of this colonel.

Upstairs is the intensive care unit for critically ill patients. The surgery has been going on for nearly ten hours since around 2 a.m. today, but the patient still shows no signs of waking up. If something really goes wrong with the patient, who knows how much trouble that could cause.

The young nurse shuddered as she recalled Huo Zhenbang's terrifying expression earlier.

When Qiao Fei followed, Huo Zhenbang was standing in the corridor outside the emergency room. Behind him stood a general, and the entire corridor was silent. Even his wife had forgotten to cry, her eyes glazed over.

He stepped forward, his gaze passing through the transparent glass wall, and saw the young man lying unconscious on the bed.

The surgeon looked unwell.

Huo Zhenbang stared blankly at the person on the emergency table, watching the blood from the blood bag drip into that arm, watching more and more hemostatic cotton being placed on the tray to the side, watching the lines on the screen of the heart rate monitor next to him rise and fall more and more smoothly, as if in the next second, the line would become a straight line.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway. A nurse entered the ward with two blood bags, replacing the one that was almost empty. She then switched tasks with a tired-looking nurse.

The nurse who came out to replace him left the room. Huo Zhenbang didn't ask how the patient was. He just stood there quietly, his gaze never leaving Huo Qingfeng.

A short while later, the hospital director arrived with several doctors. Upon seeing Huo Zhenbang's expression, they were at a loss for words. Apart from saying that they would do their best to save him, they could not say anything else.

"Lower heart rate, increase current."

"The bleeding still won't stop, continue the transfusion."

The surgeon calmly reconnected a blood vessel, but inwardly marveled at the patient's incredible resilience. To have survived two gunshot wounds to this spot and lost so much blood was nothing short of a medical miracle.

"Hemostats." He dared not slack off for a moment, because he knew that as long as the patient was saved by him, his status in the medical field would be greatly improved, and his medical research expenses would be secured.

He wanted too much, so this surgery consumed all the knowledge he had acquired in his life.

A six-hour surgery is enough to exhaust doctors, let alone ten hours in. The doctors are tired, and the patient's body is also reaching its limit.

The doctor knew very well that if the patient couldn't be saved within twelve hours of surgery, he would truly die. He calmly worked to stop the bleeding; although physically exhausted, his spirits soared.

Ten and a half hours later, the operating room lights were still on.

Eleven hours passed, and the dean standing to the side was getting paler and paler, and the doctor next to him also looked unwell.

Eleven hours and twenty minutes later, the dean's legs were trembling, and he didn't even have the courage to look at Huo Zhenbang. They all knew that if Huo Qingfeng hadn't been saved after twelve hours, there would only be one outcome: death.

Time ticked by, and the dean's face turned deathly pale. He staggered and was supported by the doctor behind him.

...

"Qingfeng!" Ling Ruoke woke up from the nightmare, her clothes soaked with cold sweat. She had been having this dream for two days in a row! In her dream, Qingfeng was shot in the heart, and lots and lots of blood gushed out...

She buried her head between her legs, trembling. The terrible feeling still lingered in her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

Ignoring the fact that it was late at night, she scrambled out of bed and ran barefoot to the living room to dial the phone. As before, the same cold voice reminded her that the phone was switched off.

Ling Ruoke sat there blankly for a while, and finally dialed Xuan Yuanqi's number. The phone didn't ring for long before Xuan Yuanqi's voice came through.

"Sister-in-law." His voice was a little hoarse, as if he had just woken up.

Ling Ruoke clutched the phone tightly. "Xuanyuan, I'm sorry to wake you so late. Do you... do you have any news about Qingfeng? How is he?"

“He eats and sleeps well at home, but he has no freedom. But don’t worry, he’ll find a way to get out soon.” Xuan Yuanqi looked at the ICU ward from afar, where the person lying inside was still in critical condition.

The same answer as before, but if you could know, he had already done his best. "Thank you. I'll hang up now, goodbye."

"Goodbye." Xuan Yuanqi put away his phone and stood by the window for a long time.

Broken Blade, you must hold on! If you can't hold on, Ling Ruoke's life will be ruined. You are her backbone.

Ling Ruoke hung up the phone and sat blankly on the sofa, hugging her knees. She didn't even turn on the light, just sat there in the dark. Later, she drifted off to sleep and didn't wake up until dawn.

The next day, Ling Ruoke fell ill.

A cold and fever struck suddenly and completely overwhelmed her. Lying in the hospital bed, she was delirious, calling out the captain's name. For three whole days, she slept in a daze, constantly muttering in her sleep.

Tan Peishi was so worried that her hair turned white. She had no choice but to call Xuan Yuanqi and ask him to send someone to take care of the little one. Meanwhile, she stayed at the hospital, taking care of the patients without taking off her clothes.

On the fourth day, the patient finally woke up. She herself had lost a lot of weight, and Tan Peishi had also lost a lot of weight.

"You're finally awake. You've been unconscious for three whole days, do you know that? If you hadn't woken up, I would have fallen ill too."

Ling Ruoke was still somewhat dazed, and it took her a while to remember. "I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this."

"Alright, alright. We're best friends, so let's not talk about dragging each other down. You just need to get better as soon as possible, that's what's important. Look at you, how thin you've become! Are you deliberately trying to get the captain to come back and skin me alive?"

Ling Ruoke smiled apologetically, but as she smiled, her eyes welled up with tears. "Has anyone called me these past few days?" Her voice was hoarse and strained from a fever and cold.

"No. Don't worry, the captain will be back soon. He'll definitely be back before the New Year. You just need to take care of yourself, prepare for the New Year, decorate the house, and wait for him to come back."

Ling Ruoke forced a smile and hummed in agreement. "By the way, where's the little one?"

"Scarface and the others are taking good care of him. Don't worry, the little guy is fine, he just keeps asking to see you." He cries to see his mommy every day and won't sleep at night, which has Scarface and the others very worried.

Ling Ruoke was discharged from the hospital after lying in bed for a full week.

The Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and school will be out for break soon. There are only two days of classes left, followed by exams, and then winter break.

Xuan Yuanqi and Tan Peishi strongly urged her to simply not go to work, since there was only one week left anyway. They suggested she stay home, rest, and gain weight.

Ling Ruoke insisted. After all, she was the homeroom teacher; how could she not be present at such a crucial time as the exam?

On her first day back at work after recovering from her illness, Ling Ruoke felt something was off as soon as she entered the school gate. It wasn't that the school had changed, but rather that everyone was looking at her strangely. Even their greetings seemed forced.

"Sister Ruoke." The little boy ran over from the side.

"Good morning, Xiaotong." Ling Ruoke smiled at her, finally finding someone normal. "Xiaotong, did something happen while I was on leave? Why does everyone seem so strange?"

The little boy pulled me along, dragging me inside. "You'll see when you come with me."

Ling Ruoke followed suspiciously until they reached the school's bulletin board.

"You'll see when you look at this. It's been appearing every morning since the second day you got sick, and it reappears the day after I tear it down," the little boy said angrily, pointing at the poster.

Ling Ruoke took a closer look and was shocked to find that the title was in tiny print and contained her name—Shameless Ling Ruoke, flirting with other women, stealing other women's husbands and boyfriends!

Below are photos, all sorts of photos, with Ruoke appearing as the female lead in every single one, while there are many male leads. The faces are somewhat blurry, but certain features reveal they are not the same person. Ironically, some of these photos are real. There's a photo of her with Qingfeng, a photo of her being hugged by Cang Weiwo, a photo of her being pulled by Tang Yue, a photo of her getting into a car with Zhuang Yicheng…

Attached to the letter was an indignant letter, written from the perspective of a victim. Tearfully, it detailed how the woman had seduced another woman's husband and how shameless she was…

The clever thing about this person is that several people in the photo had appeared at the school, which increased the credibility of the photo.

Ling Ruoke staggered backward, her voice trembling as she asked the child, "Has it appeared every day for the past few days? Have you seen who posted it?"

“They appear every day, but we don’t know who posted them. Sister Ruoke, you need to be prepared. Yesterday, some students’ parents came to the school to make a scene. It seems that someone even sent these things to the students’ parents. They are very angry and say that such a teacher will corrupt the children and demand that the school replace the teacher.”

Ling Ruoke could barely breathe, feeling as if she had been swept into a giant vortex. From Qingfeng being taken away, Cang Weiwo forcing her to appear, the recording that caused misunderstandings, the marriage between the Huo and Gu families, the fabricated accusations... one thing after another piled up, like a mountain constantly approaching her, forcing her to stagger backward step by step!

Is this the general's method? Are they trying to force her to leave this place?

Ling Ruoke entered the office in a daze. Unlike usual, no one greeted her warmly. They exchanged glances and pretended to be busy with their work.

A short while later, the principal sent someone to call her to his office.

The principal was a kind man in his fifties who never put on airs. He never scolded anyone during meetings. "Ruo Ke, are you feeling better?"

"Alright, thank you for your concern, Principal." Ling Ruoke forced a smile. "Principal, I already know about that matter. I'm so sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"Ruoke, I know you're not that kind of person. But I have no choice. Those parents are making a huge fuss, and someone has already put pressure on the school behind the scenes. I'm afraid you're no longer suitable to teach here." The old principal liked this sincere and gentle female teacher very much, and the students liked her too. Unfortunately, it seems she's offended someone powerful.

"I know. Principal, there are only a few days left until the holiday. Can I finish teaching for these few days and then resign immediately?" Ling Ruoke didn't want to put the principal in a difficult position; the other party had a powerful background, and the principal couldn't handle the pressure. "Exams are coming up soon, and I'm worried about affecting the children's grades. Can I just finish teaching for these two days?"

The principal thought for a long time and finally nodded. "Alright then, finish this semester and I'll talk to the parents."

"Thank you, Principal."

Stepping out of the principal's office, Ling Ruoke looked at the winter sun, tears instantly blurring her vision. She quickly took a deep breath and wiped them away. It's okay, life always has its ups and downs, just grit your teeth and get through it.

After morning exercises, we gather to listen to the principal's speech.

Students lined up in their respective classes, with teachers standing at the head of their class's line to maintain discipline.

The principal was talking about the final exams, and everyone was listening quietly.

Just then, several middle-aged women rushed over, looking aggressive and shouting loudly:

"Which one is Ling Ruoke? Show yourself! This vixen, I'm going to tear her to pieces today!"

Suddenly, everyone who knew Ruoke turned to look at her. Some were concerned, but most were just curious and eager to see what would happen.

Ling Ruoke's face turned pale, her hands clenched into fists. She felt as if a nerve of reason had snapped in an instant. Even in these last few days, they wouldn't let her go!

Why!