Chapter 41

Upon hearing that Iris needed to rest in bed to protect her pregnancy, Jennie, who was far away in the UK, immediately discussed it with Edward and booked a flight back to Hong Kong for a short stay.

With his mother-in-law arriving, Zhuang Zhuoyuan should have been eager to make a good impression. Even if his wife was still in the hospital, he should have been there every day. However, Jennie hadn't seen him all day, not even a phone call. She was immediately annoyed: "Is A-Yuan out on another mission?"

“Mmm, Mom~” Iris quickly put down the fruit in her hand and acted coquettishly towards Jennie, “He came to have lunch with me yesterday, but I guess he had a mission in the afternoon and it’s still not over.”

"Don't they, Flying Tigers, value quick and decisive action?" Jennie still disliked Zhuang Zhuoyuan's job, which involved disappearing at any moment. In her opinion, Zhuoyuan was good in every way, but his professionalism was the biggest drawback.

“They’re probably investigating my case,” Iris deduced. “When my sister came over before, she mentioned that they were investigating the drug lab, and Ah Yuen mentioned that Hins submitted a wastewater report from a soy sauce factory to Inspector Chan that day, so I guessed they went there. Come to think of it, I’ve been there before. It turns out it was a drug lab. No wonder they kept so many dogs!”

“You get excited just thinking about this!” Jennie couldn’t help but poke her daughter’s head. The latter seemed completely oblivious to being a mother, totally out of sorts. If Jennie hadn’t come back just in time, Iris probably would have sneaked home during the few days Zhuang Zhuoyuan was away. Jennie put on a stern face and warned, “Mom and Daddy have agreed that I will stay in Hong Kong until you are three months pregnant. During the middle three months, Auntie and AK may come over from time to time, and Daddy and I will also do some spot checks. In the last three months, Daddy will also come back to Hong Kong to wait for you to give birth. So throughout your pregnancy, you must remember not to run around or jump around, not to go to dangerous places, and definitely not to investigate cases randomly.”

"I know, I'll definitely be a good mommy." Iris was worried that if she kept talking, Jennie would just arrange for her to take a leave of absence from school. This unexpected arrival of the baby, occurring in such an unfavorable month, made Iris worried that it would be very inconvenient for her to go to school later in the year when her belly got bigger. Her parents thought that since her due date was before the final exams, she should simply take a year off from school, have the baby when it was time, and focus on her studies when it was time to do so, so she could accomplish things better. Besides, she already had three degrees from Oxford, so one more wouldn't make a difference, and there was no need to rush.

Even so, Iris couldn't feel at ease. She sighed softly, "It turns out that getting pregnant while in school is more troublesome than I expected. I will never be careless again."

Jennie's response was more realistic: "You're lucky you have your parents to rely on. Otherwise, if you were born into an ordinary family, with A-Yuan's salary and the uncertainty of his job, you wouldn't be able to do anything for yourself."

"That's why I said Daddy and Mommy are the best!" Iris snuggled up to Jennie, her movements so exaggerated that Jennie wanted to scold her again. But she wasn't one to nag, so she decided to just ignore it and go back first before coming back: "I brought Yuanbao this time. I know you want it to grow up with the baby, so I brought it over early to get used to the environment. It's being taken care of by someone at the villa now. I'll have you guys video chat later. I don't know when Ayuan will finish work, but I'll come over to keep you company for dinner as usual. Is there anything else you need me to bring?"

Comics, comics, comics! A certain Zhuang Sheng was afraid that she would stay up all night to read the serialized comics, so he would only bring her one comic a day. As a result, as soon as he disappeared, she was forced to stop updating.

Jennie went to the Zhuang family's house first. As soon as she entered, she smelled a faint stench. She quickly covered half her face with a scarf, looked at the shoes on the shoe rack, and knocked on the bathroom door following the sound: "Yuan, is that you? Or is it Hua?"

The closer she got, the stronger the smell became. After standing there for a while, Jennie felt like she couldn't breathe. She opened the bedroom door and stepped back, but then, realizing it wasn't a good idea, she went back out, closed the door, and moved to the kitchen. During this time, only a faint response came from the bathroom, barely audible due to the sound of running water: "Huh?"

One sound was enough to confirm it. Jennie looked worried, thinking to herself what kind of work Zhuang Zhuoyuan did. Disgusted, she took out her perfume from her bag and sprayed it twice, but didn't leave. She still called out, "Zhuang Zhuoyuan, it's Mom. What's wrong?"

"Mom?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan quickly got dressed, opened the door, rushed out but stopped just in time, as if being punished, and said, "Mommy, please sit on the sofa first, I'll just stand here and talk to you." His face was full of trouble, his brows were furrowed even more tightly than his mother-in-law's, and when he told the truth, it was as if he wanted to stick his head into a guillotine: "I just came out of the septic tank."

"What?!" Jennie was completely stunned.

Iris spoke up for her husband, extrapolating from the weather and terrain to the hardships Zhuang Zhuoyuan might have to endure, such as climbing mountains, getting rained on, going hungry, and freezing cold. Jennie could understand all of that, but why would she jump into a septic tank when everything was fine? She was truly grateful that her daughter had been staying in the hospital for the past few days.

"Tell me from the beginning, what exactly happened?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan revealed the parts he could: "I went to monitor the suspect, but when I adjusted my position to get closer to take pictures, I accidentally rolled down the hillside and was chased by the wolfhounds kept by the target unit. After running for most of the village, I had no choice but to jump into the septic tank, which is how I escaped."

"Oh, my gosh!" Jennie rubbed her forehead, a look of pain on her face. Just hearing Zhuang Zhuoyuan's description was unbearable. Zhuang Zhuoyuan subconsciously took a few steps back. He knew how unbearable his smell was right now. Even after showering five or six times, he still felt like he had just come out of a septic tank. Jennie looked like she was about to vomit, but despite the discomfort, she still leaned forward and gave him her perfume. She patted Zhuang Zhuoyuan on the shoulder and said the rest of her sentence before leaving: "This job is really too difficult, Zhuoyuan. If you need anything, Daddy and I can arrange other work for you, or AK is fine too. Of course, if you insist on working for Flying Tigers, we will respect your decision. But don't go to the hospital to see Iris until the smell dissipates. I'm worried she'll feel uncomfortable. You can just video chat. Also, Mom's perfume might be a bit weak. If you don't like it, go look on Iris's dressing table. She definitely has a stronger scent. I'll find you some cologne now and have someone bring it over later. Oh, and have you eaten? Poor thing, you must not have much to eat while on a mission. Why don't you go take another shower? I'll order food and have someone buy a few more bottles of shower gel and shampoo. Also, where are your dirty clothes and shoes? Put them in a bag and throw them away. Mom will buy you new ones. Hurry up, get moving!"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt like he had returned to his childhood, when his parents were still alive. Every time he came home covered in mud, his mother would scold him while helping him, just like Jennie does now. His eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and he felt that he had become much more sensitive lately: "Thank you, Mom."

"Are you silly?" Jennie waved her hand dismissively.

After the shift change, Grandma Lung and Qiu Junxuan were supposed to replace Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Yu Xueli. However, Grandma Zhang called urgently for help, prompting Qiu Junxuan to disobey Inspector Zhan's orders and go to investigate alone. Fortunately, he arrived in time, rescuing Zhong Yingjia from a group of people who were chasing him. After Zhong Yingjia regained consciousness, Qiu Junxuan learned from him that there was a bomb at the soy sauce factory. But at this time, Madam Zhuang had already led the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) members to storm the factory…

Another person was admitted to the hospital. Jennie and Iris came to visit Chong Cheuk-wah. Seeing that the latter was pale and had a large bandage wrapped around her right hand, Jennie frowned again: "Oh dear, she really can't go on like this. Tomorrow I'll go to Wong Tai Sin Temple and get a talisman for each of you. This job is just too dangerous!"

“Mommy.” Iris tugged at her sleeve, afraid that she would bring up changing jobs again.

Jennie knew her place. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was different from Iris, and Zhuang Zhuohua was different from Zhuang Zhuoyuan. She first addressed Iris, then turned back to Zhuang Zhuohua: "Being a police officer is dangerous. I wanted to tell Ah Hua not to push herself too hard. I only heard before coming to Hong Kong that you were taken hostage and injured. And now, you almost died in the line of duty. I was terrified when I heard the news. And what about Ah Yuan? He was also in that factory full of bombs!"

Zhuang Zhuohua met Iris's gaze, smiled knowingly, and then said to Jennie, "Aunty, don't worry, we will all take good care of ourselves. My injury this time is not a big problem. The doctor said I can be discharged in a couple of days. Thank you for coming to see me."

Jennie patted her hand gently: "We're family. I've already asked the maid to make some soup, and she'll bring it over at mealtime. Just drink it all and get some rest, okay?"

“Yes, thank you,” Zhuang Zhuohua replied.

Halfway through their conversation, Zhan Hantao entered. He was carrying two bouquets of flowers, seemingly there to visit Iris. Upon seeing Iris, he greeted her warmly. Iris's pregnancy was not yet public; only their close friends knew, and Zhan Hantao was one of them.

Iris took one of the bouquets of flowers from his hand and happily thanked him, "Thank you, Brother Tao. Thank you so much for saving my sister's life. I'm fine now. The doctor said I'm in good health and can go home after only a week."

“Dr. Yip is right, we have to go back, even if it’s just for a week.” Zhuang Zhuoyuan came in with a kettle and casually patted Iris’s head as she sat in her wheelchair: “She’ll stay a few more days and then be discharged with my sister.”

"It's good that Madam Zhuang is alright. It's lucky she only suffered minor injuries this time. Even if we're going to fight, we have to take care of ourselves first." Zhan Hantao said the same thing. However, Zhuang Zhuohua heard the implication in his words: "Are you saying I'm reckless? That's how it is for police officers. We're willing to risk everything from the start. If we don't seize the opportunity to get those drug dealers to throw the drugs into the sea, then all our efforts will be in vain."

Zhan Hantao crossed his arms: "I think you're not just reckless, you're practically committing suicide." His words carried a hint of probing, and both Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Iris were startled. Zhuang Zhuoyuan, straightforward as ever, blurted out, "Sister, you can't be serious! Do you know how scared I was when I got back to the observation room and heard you go into the soy sauce factory with the bomb?"

Iris came over and took her hand: "Sister Jia."

Chong Cheuk-wah chuckled: "Are you all stupid? I admit I did say something like 'Go ahead and shoot if you dare,' but it was just a psychological game, a tactic I was using. Don't forget, I'm about to become an aunt, how could I possibly have such reckless thoughts?"

Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan finally felt much more at ease.

After leaving, they still carefully inquired about the situation. Zhuang Zhuohua, always the first to charge into battle, had entered the factory amidst the chaos. Only Zhan Hantao had kept up with Madam Zhuang. A subsequent bomb detonation caused the tunnel to collapse, separating Zhuang Zhuohua and the others with rubble and wood. She fought the bandits alone, but fortunately, Zhan Hantao arrived in time, shooting and killing the drug dealer trying to kill Zhuang Zhuohua through a gap; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Zhan Hantao described the scene, briefly recounted his experiences working with Madam Zhuang, and finally suggested, "Ah Yuan, Iris, I think if you have time, you should have a professional doctor re-examine Madam Zhuang to see if she still has self-harm tendencies."

After all, mental illness isn't something that can be cured overnight. Iris had audited related courses and knew about the recurring issues, so back in her ward, she thought about it and decided to discuss it with Zhuang Zhuoyuan and arrange for Edgar to help as well. Once she lay down, she asked a new question: "Why is it that, even though we're colleagues, Tao was able to notice so much, while you didn't notice anything at all?"

"Perhaps those involved are blinded by their own perspective." But Zhuang Zhuoyuan had to admit that he was indeed inferior to Zhan Hantao in this respect.

Iris pinched his cheek and revealed her newly formed thought: "Do you know something called the male lead's halo? In novels, why do female protagonists fall in love with male protagonists? It's because only the male lead can see her differences."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan's expression started to panic again, just like when Iris told him she wanted to matchmake Ben and his sister: "BB, don't tell me you're going to back out. You're not supporting Ben, are you going to support A Tao instead?" He had just been about to run away from Jason to support Ben.

Iris blinked: "So, between Ben and Tao, which one do you think is better?"

Of course it's Zhan Hantao!