A simple sentence startled Liu Huimin, who immediately snapped back to reality and dared not let her mind wander any further.
After class, Liu Huimin let out a wail and slumped onto the desk: "Qingqing, I'm so nervous, what should I do?"
She suddenly felt immense pressure. She was the one who spearheaded this poetry recitation, and if her roommates were to embarrass themselves on stage with her, she would be utterly guilty!
Xia Qingqing patted her shoulder reassuringly: "We rehearsed well yesterday, so there's nothing to be nervous about. Just perform normally."
Hearing this, Xiang Qiu, who was packing her things, agreed: "That's right, we've memorized the script perfectly. If you're really worried, we won't recite it from memory."
Upon hearing this, Liu Huimin immediately sat up: "No way, reciting poetry isn't difficult at all. Reading from a script makes us look useless. People who don't know us will think we can't remember it."
Xiang Qiu had no choice but to laugh and say, "I'll do whatever you say. Hurry up and pack your things to eat. After we eat, we can go through the manuscript again while we still have time."
Although Liu Huimin valued this performance very much, it was impossible for her to buy a special costume for this performance.
To look more harmonious on stage, the four of them agreed to wear clothes in the same color scheme, which would make the audience feel more comfortable.
Once the school anniversary gala began, time seemed to fly by. Their poetry recitation performance was scheduled for earlier in the program, and all four of them breathed a sigh of relief after their performance.
After their performance, they didn't rush to leave but continued to watch the next performance. To their surprise, there were three poetry recitations following them.
Liu Huimin also quietly complained: "They performed really well. Luckily, we were scheduled to perform earlier, otherwise I would have been even more nervous."
After the school anniversary performance ended, everyone left one after another.
Liu Huimin pulled Xia Qingqing and the others aside and announced, "To celebrate the success of our performance, I'll treat everyone to a nice meal at a state-run restaurant tomorrow, since we have a day off."
"Oh, Mr. Liu, why are you suddenly being so generous?" Xiang Qiu teased with a smile.
Liu Huimin said with a smile, "Hehe, you've all worked hard these past few days. If it weren't for you accompanying me, you wouldn't have had to be so tired. I want to thank you properly."
"That's great! We won't stand on ceremony then, we'll be waiting for your feast."
Liu Huimin looked at Xia Qingqing and said, "Qingqing, don't come to school tomorrow. Let's meet at the state-run restaurant at noon."
"Okay, then can I arrive at the state-run restaurant around 11:30?" Xia Qingqing asked.
"Sure, see you there!"
——
When Xia Qingqing returned home, she found that Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping were not home.
She found it strange; Zhang Hongyan was usually cooking in the kitchen at this time, but she was nowhere to be seen today.
She went to the kitchen to cook rice first, and then went to Gou Dan's room.
Gou Dan was diligently doing his homework at the table when he heard his sister come in and immediately called out.
"Dog Egg, didn't Mom and Dad come back today?"
"No, I didn't see them when I came back. I opened the door myself with my key," Gou Dan shook his head subconsciously, his hand still writing without pausing.
Xia Qingqing asked in confusion, "Where would they go? They should have been home long ago by now."
Fortunately, Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping always stayed together, so she didn't need to worry too much about their safety.
Zhang Hongyan and her companion didn't return home until Xia Qingqing started cooking.
As soon as Zhang Hongyan arrived home, she went straight into the kitchen and saw her daughter cooking. A look of relief appeared on her face.
She also said that she was late coming home today and that it would delay her from cooking, but her daughter had already started cooking.
Zhang Hongyan stepped forward and pretended to take the spatula from Xia Qingqing's hand: "Qingqing, go inside and rest for a while. Let Mom cook this dish."
Xia Qingqing didn't press the matter and let go of his hand. She turned her head and asked curiously, "Mom, where did you and Dad go today? Why are you so late?"
"Well... your dad and I were listening to someone's conversation and we were a little late. But we just heard some big news that you would never expect. Do you want to know?" Zhang Hongyan looked at her daughter excitedly, as if waiting for her to ask.
Xia Qingqing played along, feigning surprise and exclaiming, "What big news is it? Tell me quickly!"
With an audience, Zhang Hongyan immediately got excited: "Do you remember the murder case from more than a month ago? Last night, those bad guys committed another crime. I heard that the woman they caught was almost killed, but she was rescued by some kind person on the way. When the police arrived, they saw the two murderers tied up and dumped at the crime scene."
"I don't know which kind person did this, but calling them a hero wouldn't be an exaggeration."
"Wow, that was so dangerous!" Xia Qingqing pretended to be very surprised.
She was secretly laughing to herself, wondering if her mother would be shocked if she found out that the kind person was her precious daughter.
Ah, no, that's not right either. If Mom finds out she dared to do something so dangerous, she'll probably get a good beating.
So she should just keep this matter to herself. Only heaven, earth, and she know about it; she absolutely cannot let a second person know.
Zhang Hongyan frowned and continued, "Sigh, I don't know whether to say that woman was lucky or unlucky. If you say she was unlucky, the first two women were killed by the murderer, but she was the one who was saved."
"She's lucky, everyone knows she was violated by those two murderers, so her life in her husband's family is probably going to be tough from now on."
After saying that, Zhang Hongyan sighed and shook her head. She heard that the woman was still in the hospital, and she wondered if her husband would ask for a divorce.
After all, no man could bear the thought of his wife being violated.
"Probably not, after all, she didn't want to be harmed like this," Xia Qingqing wanted to defend the woman, but she also knew that no matter what she thought, she couldn't change the woman's fate.
Saving the other person was a casual thing for her, because she was very confident in her abilities and considered it a good deed she did every day.
But she couldn't be so kind as to care about how the other person was doing after being rescued.
Listening to her daughter's innocent words, Zhang Hongyan couldn't help but chuckle: "This society is just unfair to women. Men don't care whether you're willing or not; they only know that you're not clean."
It's not just her in-laws who will look down on her; relatives, friends, and neighbors will also gossip. If that woman has a daughter, she might also be affected by her mother's reputation.
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