That's what she thought, but reality didn't quite allow it.

The next second, Qiao Qiqi heard the old lady's voice behind her, "Oh my, how embarrassing! How could you hug someone in public like that!"

Qiao Qiqi dared to be unrestrained in front of others, but in front of the old lady, she still had to be more or less restrained.

So even though she was unwilling, she immediately let go and turned around. She saw the old lady covering her face, looking embarrassed, and saying, "If you want to carry her, go inside. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by outsiders for being so affectionate?"

Qiao Qiqi blushed.

She didn't want to, but she was just too excited and rushed over to hug him...

Realizing that her actions were indeed somewhat shocking, Qiao Qiqi immediately grabbed Qin Huai's hand and quickly ran into the house.

Qin Baoguo stood aside, frowning as he watched the scene. He wanted to say something to the old lady, but seeing her covering her face, he hesitated and said nothing.

"Grandma!" Chenchen rushed over immediately upon seeing the old lady.

The old lady stiffened, realizing it was her grandson, and immediately lowered her hand to look at him.

Chenchen stood firmly in front of her, looking at her with red eyes.

The old lady's eyes immediately welled up with tears. She reached out and touched Chenchen's hair, choking back sobs as she said, "You've grown taller and stronger. It's good that you're back safe and sound."

Chenchen finally couldn't hold back any longer and jumped into the old lady's arms: "Grandma, I missed you so much."

"Grandma missed you too, she thought about you every day." The old lady could no longer hold back her tears. Seeing her grandson and granddaughter return safely, her wish had finally come true.

Seeing this touching scene, Qin Baoguo, though reluctant to break it, still stepped forward and said, "Grandma, let's go inside and talk!"

The old lady nodded and immediately pulled Chenchen into the house.

Xin Xin came downstairs at this moment. When she saw Chen Chen, her eyes lit up and she ran over excitedly, "Brother!"

Chenchen turned around and saw Xinxin, who could speak now. She was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Xinxin, you can speak now!"

"Yes, my sister took me to see a doctor. I drank the medicine for more than ten days and I'm all better now. I can talk and hear again." Xin Xin was overjoyed to see Chen Chen and immediately sat close to her, full of dependence.

Knowing that the two children had suffered outside, and thinking of their long and arduous journey back, they must have been eating and sleeping poorly. The old lady immediately called out to the kitchen, "Aunt Zhou, hurry up and cook! Make more meat!"

Aunt Zhou poked her head out from the kitchen. "I'm already seated, so don't worry."

Seeing that Aunt Zhou was ready, the old lady smiled and looked away.

At this moment, Qiao Qiqi and Qin Huai also came downstairs after catching up.

Hearing the voice, the old lady turned her head, and her smiling gaze froze instantly when she saw Qin Huai's face. "You..."

Looking at the face in front of her that resembled Qin Baoguo by three or four points, the old lady thought her eyes were playing tricks on her and immediately raised her hand to rub her eyes, but the face in front of her remained unchanged.

The old lady suddenly noticed the hands that Qiao Qiqi and Qin Huai were holding, and realized that this was Qiao Qiqi's husband. She was even more surprised, "You two are husband and wife?"

Qiao Qiqi glanced at Qin Huai, then pulled him forward to introduce him to the old lady: "His name is Qin Huai, and he is my husband."

The old lady stared intently at Qin Huai's face, and subconsciously muttered, "His surname is Qin..."

“My husband’s biological father died a heroic death on the battlefield. Before he died, he entrusted my husband to his comrade-in-arms, who is now my father-in-law. My father-in-law’s surname is Qin, and his name is Qin Baojun.” Qiao Qiqi knew what the old lady was curious about, so she simply explained everything in one go.

The old lady snapped out of her reverie and realized that Qin Huai's age was off; he couldn't possibly be her eldest son. A hint of disappointment flashed across her eyes. "So that's how it is!"

Qin Baoguo glanced at Qin Huai, seemingly wanting to say something, when just then, a servant suddenly came in and said, "The son-in-law has arrived."

Qin Baoguo frowned, turned around, and saw Xiao Tanghai walking in from outside in a hurry. As soon as he entered, he went straight to Chenchen and said with a smile, "Chenchen is back. Now Mother can rest assured."

As he spoke, he came up to Chenchen and reached out to pat her shoulder.

Chenchen's face turned cold, and she quickly took a step back.

Xiao Tanghai's hand froze in mid-air, but he still smiled and finished the rest of his sentence: "This child must have suffered a lot outside. He's gotten darker and thinner, but it's good that he's back. He'll have better days from now on."

Chenchen stared at him coldly without saying a word.

Qiao Qiqi didn't know how Chenchen and Qin Baoguo discussed things after they met, since it was a family matter for the Qin family. However, seeing that Qin Baoguo didn't expose Xiao Tanghai's true colors immediately, she knew that Qin Baoguo didn't intend to publicly expose them.

So she stepped forward, gently put her arm around Chenchen's shoulder, and whispered, "Go upstairs with Xinxin to take a shower and change into clean clothes, then come downstairs for dinner."

Chenchen looked up and met Qiao Qiqi's reassuring gaze. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded and said, "Okay."

Watching Xin Xin and Chen Chen go upstairs, Qiao Qiqi looked away and met Qin Baoguo's grateful gaze.

She didn't say anything and simply sat down on the sofa next to Qin Huai.

Following that, the old lady asked Qin Baoguo if he had encountered any dangers or unrest along the way. Qin Baoguo replied that the journey had been smooth and did not reveal a single detail.

But Qiao Qiqi had just led Qin Huai upstairs, so she knew the journey hadn't been smooth.

Not only did things not go smoothly, but they were also attacked several times, and on their way back, they almost suffered total annihilation once.

However, Qiao Qiqi couldn't guess Qin Baoguo's thoughts. The old lady's health was not good. When she was hospitalized last time, the doctor said that she couldn't handle any stimulation. If she knew Xiao Tanghai's true colors, she probably wouldn't be able to bear it.

Since Qin Baoguo chose not to speak, Qiao Qiqi did not interfere.

Soon, the meal was ready.

Chenchen and Xinxin came downstairs to eat. He was already over ten years old and had been on the run for more than a year, so he had long since learned to read people's expressions.

Seeing that everything downstairs was normal, Chenchen stopped worrying about Xiao Tanghai and quietly sat down to eat with Xinxin.

After the meal, the old lady asked Chenchen carefully what had happened along the way. Chenchen seemed to have prepared her story in advance, only saying that she had encountered several groups of human traffickers who wanted to kidnap her and sell her for money, and said nothing else.

During this time, Xiao Tanghai did not leave, and he stayed overnight at the Qin family's house.

When it was time to sleep that night, Qin Huai was arranged to sleep in Chen Chen's room. The old lady moved in wanting Chen Chen to sleep with her, but Chen Chen refused, saying she wanted to sleep with Qin Huai.

The old lady looked somewhat disappointed, but she knew that her grandson had just returned and was still adjusting. She felt safer with Qin Huai, who had saved him, so she didn't insist.