Next, I will play the role of Yuan Mingzhao.
This was the top priority she set for herself.
She clearly remembered the change in the soldier's eyes when he opened the blueprints, which she had secretly witnessed later.
He recognized it, and he will definitely take action.
Now, all she needs to do is play the role of a "mute" girl who has been abused for a long time, is terrified, and is submissive, so as to lower the guard of the two men and wait for the inevitable moment to arrive.
So, the next morning, Li Hongmei opened the door with a smile on her face: "Zhaozhao, breakfast is ready."
Mingzhao's bowl contained a thin porridge so thin that you could count the few grains of rice, while Li Hongmei's bowl contained almost the same amount.
Huang Weiguo, however, had a thick porridge, with an egg placed beside it. In her memory, this delicacy had always been Huang Weiguo's exclusive treat. Li Hongmei outwardly ate the same as Mingzhao, but in reality, she had already eaten her own while cooking. She did this simply to avoid gossip.
Seeing that the two had started eating, Mingzhao picked up his bowl and slowly drank.
A peeled egg was placed in front of Mingzhao.
It was Huang Weiguo, who was smiling: "Eat up. You must have been starving these past few days."
He had a kind face, and his smile was particularly gentle.
"Try going out with your mom these next few days, don't stay cooped up at home all the time. My job situation is all sorted out now. I was just angry before, you didn't blame Dad for punishing you, did you?"
Mingzhao shook her head. She understood that this was an attempt to win her over.
In fact, Huang Weiguo got his job under the guise of raising Mingzhao; otherwise, given his previous rank, he would have had to return to his hometown in the countryside. Mingzhao's parents were of high rank, and at the time, no one would adopt her. Huang Weiguo offered to repay a debt of gratitude, and the organization made an exception for him, allowing him to stay and become a staff officer.
The pensions from Mingzhao's parents, along with his monthly food rations, are at least enough for Mingzhao to live on.
After dinner, Mingzhao was pulled out for a stroll by Li Hongmei.
The original owner, Mingzhao, rarely went out, and Li Hongmei would always answer with a gentle smile when asked by others.
"This child just doesn't want to go out. Even when we give her money to buy things, she dawdles... Only Old Huang was willing to adopt her, after all, she's the only daughter of his savior..."
As Li Hongmei listened to others praising her and her husband's kindness, a smug smile appeared in her eyes as she glanced at Mingzhao. It was as if she were saying: "Look, everyone knows you're only alive because of us. Otherwise, those relatives who don't care about you would have taken advantage of you long ago."
She wasn't actually afraid of Mingzhao wandering around outside; after all, she was just a mute, what trouble could she possibly cause? But Old Huang was far too cautious. Even when someone else took Mingzhao to the cafeteria, she'd make a big fuss and give her a lecture, and even demand that Mingzhao be taken outside to show how good she was to her…
Mingzhao was like a soulless puppet, mechanically carrying out every command. Occasionally, a neighbor would cast a curious or sympathetic glance, but she would quickly lower her head and pretend to be shy.
She perfectly portrayed a pitiful child who, to outsiders, was quiet, somewhat gloomy, and always wore clothes covered in patches.
Fabric is precious in this place, and every household is just getting by. No one has extra clothes, and it's perfectly normal for clothes to have patches. No one thinks Mingzhao has been mistreated.
Huang Weiguo and his wife were very good at putting on a show.
Mingzhao didn't plan to expose them outside; she just waited for the soldiers to take action. She would avenge the original owner of this body!
Only when she returned to the absolute darkness of her small, dark room at night could she relax her tense nerves, stretch her aching muscles, and use the most basic physical recovery techniques she had learned in the interstellar era to fight against her physical weakness.
She mentally rehearsed possible conflict scenarios, devising various escape and counterattack plans. The wounds on her fingertips scabbed over and then reopened, but she paid no heed.
She is waiting.
Time flowed by in the oppressive silence and physical exhaustion.
On the evening of the third day.
The afterglow of the setting sun cast a dim golden hue over the low-rise residential compound, while a stirring march played from the loudspeakers.
Huang Weiguo, unusually, returned home on time and sat down at the peeling octagonal table in the main room.
The table was set with a more lavish meal than usual: a small dish of scrambled eggs, a bowl of vegetable soup with a few specks of oil floating on top, and two cornbread buns mixed with cornmeal.
Li Hongmei served him rice with great enthusiasm, her face plastered with a fawning smile.
Mingzhao was allowed to sit at the corner of the table, with only half a cold, hard cornbread and a small bowl of thin porridge in front of him, the rice grains of which were barely visible.
She ate in small, mechanical bites, but her ears, like the most sophisticated receivers, picked up on everything around her.
Thump, thump, thump.
Three clear, forceful, and rhythmic knocks abruptly interrupted the warm scene inside the house.
Huang Weiguo's hand, which was picking up food, paused, and his brows furrowed instantly. Li Hongmei's smile froze, and a hint of panic flashed in her eyes: "This... at this hour, who is it?"
“Go take a look,” Huang Weiguo said in a low voice.
Li Hongmei reluctantly put down her chopsticks, muttering "Who's so tactless?", walked to the door, and unlatched it.
"Who is it..." Her question was abruptly cut off!
The people standing outside the door weren't her neighbors or colleagues as she had expected. Instead, there were three men dressed in dark blue Zhongshan suits, their expressions solemn! Their seemingly casual positioning subtly blocked all escape routes.
The leader, with a square face and sharp eyes like a hawk, had one foot already on the threshold.
"Li Hongmei? Huang Weiguo?" The eagle-eyed man's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable penetrating power.
Li Hongmei trembled with fright and instinctively tried to close the door: "Who...who are you?"
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