He shouted loudly, "Zhao Meilan, are you trying to turn the world upside down?"

Zhao Meilan was still very afraid of her father. Upon hearing this, she quickly squatted down, buried her face in her hands, and cried.

"All you do is cry. What's the point of crying? Stop crying. Are you hiding something from me? Tell me everything right now."

With no other option, Zhao Meilan recounted what had just happened at the hospital while crying.

Zhao's father was furious upon hearing this, but he suppressed his anger and asked, "Tell me, where are Li Zilong and Liu Linjuan from?"

"native"

Who else is in the family?

"I heard they're all gone; only the two of them are left from the two families."

"You just said that after Li Zilong woke up, many leaders went to see him."

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just tell me who visited him," Zhao's father asked calmly.

After hearing her father's question, Zhao Meilan thought for a moment and said, "Besides Director Ding from our hospital, who goes there three times a day, there is also Minister Chen, Political Commissar Ma, and Deputy Minister Du."

As Zhao's father sat there listening, he grew increasingly frightened, cold sweat pouring down his face.

Seeing her father covered in sweat, Zhao Meilan asked, puzzled, "Dad, what's wrong?"

"That's none of your business. I'm asking you, besides Liu Linjuan, who else knows about what happened in the ward today?"

"All the nurses in the department were there at the time; now the whole hospital should know."

Upon hearing this, Zhao's father could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.

"Dad, are you alright?"

"Honey, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"

"I'm fine," he said after being helped up by his wife and daughter.

Zhao Meilan, the father, had never seen him so distraught before. She realized the enormity of her mistake and cried out in despair.

"Why are you crying? There's still a way to resolve this, Meilan. You only have two choices now."

"What does Dad mean?" Zhao Meilan didn't understand her father's words.

"Meilan, don't you understand even now that your brother suddenly got married a year and a half ago?"

"Didn't they say back then that my brother fell in love with his current sister-in-law at first sight, and that seeing her again meant the end of their relationship?"

"What utter nonsense about love at first sight and a life-or-death bond at second sight? That's all bullshit. The guy in front of your brother got into trouble and was arrested by the government."

"How could this be?" Zhao Meilan suddenly remembered what Liu Linjuan had said to her earlier that day, and was startled, just as her mother, who was standing nearby, saw it.

"I'm not trying to be mean, Meilan, but even though I'm your stepmother, I've never mistreated you and your siblings. If you have anything to hide, don't keep it from me."

When Zhao's father heard his wife ask their daughter, his face turned serious, and he said, "Meilan, tell me quickly."

Zhao Meilan knew she had gotten herself into trouble. With no other option, she told him how she met Li Zilong and what advice Zhou Xiaoya had given her.

When Zhao's father heard Zhou Xiaoya's name, he could no longer contain his anger and shouted, "That damned bitch! That damned bitch! She's trying to ruin my whole family!"

"Dad, what's wrong?" Zhao Meilan asked, puzzled.

Zhao's father told Zhao Meilan his suspicions: "A year and a half ago, your brother suddenly told me that Zhou Xiaoya had suddenly disappeared and he couldn't find her anywhere. Not long after, your brother also disappeared for three days. Three days later, your brother came back. When he came back, he was practically unrecognizable. I knew something must have happened, and your brother became depressed and despondent."

My father was worried, so he had someone investigate. The investigation revealed that many people had gone missing during those days, but no one had reported it to the police. Do you know what that means?

What does this mean?

"This means they either had the police or the military arrest them."

"This..." Zhao Meilan and her mother asked in surprise.

"Afterwards, I remembered how your brother looked when he came back. I finally learned from him that the police officers had spoken to him mainly about Zhou Xiaoya. I made your brother recount all the questions the police officers asked in detail. The more I listened, the more frightened I became. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that there was something wrong with Zhou Xiaoya. Suddenly, I wondered if she might be a spy. So, I quickly arranged for your brother to get married. Even his wife was a girl from an ordinary family in our factory. After the marriage, I quickly divided the family property between your brother and his family. They were given the smallest house in our family."

"Dad, you just said that Zhou Xiaoya is a spy, how could that be?"

“Meilan, nothing is impossible. You just said that Zhou Xiaoya gave you the idea, and Liu Linjuan relayed it to you word for word. How did she know?” Zhao’s mother said.

Upon hearing her stepmother's words, Zhao Meilan was terrified and quickly grabbed her father's hand. Thinking that Zhou Xiaoya might be a spy, she asked, "Dad, Dad, what... what should I do?"

"Meilan, we can't afford to offend her, so let's leave her alone for now. So much time has passed, and since the government hasn't contacted you to inquire about the situation, there won't be any problems in the future. The problem now is the trouble you caused today."

"Yes, yes, about today's matter, Dad, about the two solutions you mentioned earlier..."

"Meilan, how do you feel about your current job?" Zhao's father asked before answering.

"Dad, how come you still have time to ask me about work now?"

"Go ahead and say it."

Zhao Meilan then told her father everything that had happened since she started working, down to the smallest detail. When Zhao's father heard that his daughter had lost her teacher's guidance because of Zhou Xiaoya's instigation, he was very angry. However, when he heard his daughter say that Liu Linjuan was such a capable doctor, he was also very pleased.

He was glad he had listened to his wife and hadn't let anyone investigate their family. He thought to himself that if Zhao Meilan weren't his biological daughter, he wouldn't want to get involved, but in reality, he couldn't ignore it. So he simply said:

"Meilan, do you still want to stay in the military hospital? Do you still want to wear this uniform?"

Why did Dad ask that?

"You just need to answer my questions."

"What's the difference?" Zhao Meilan asked, somewhat displeased but still puzzled.

"Since that's how you see it, I'll be frank with you. Regarding our family's class background, whether you're doing this for the good of the family or for your own, don't delay wearing this military uniform unless absolutely necessary. It might just be your lifesaver."

"dad"

"Meilan, Dad isn't joking with you. To be honest, I plan to send your younger brother and sister to the army in two years. Only there can we guarantee our family's safety."

"This is me."

"I know you feel ashamed to be in the hospital after what happened today, but you have to stay there."

"But, what about the child's father? What about Meilan's reputation at the hospital?" Zhao's mother asked worriedly.

"Simple, just get married already."

"Marriage?" Zhao Meilan asked in surprise.