"That's not right..."
She looked up at Shen Huaichuan and then asked:
"At that time... I clearly felt a terrible pain in my heart, like it was about to split open. That feeling... was definitely not just a physical injury..."
Upon hearing her words, the ease on Shen Huaichuan's face vanished instantly, replaced by deep worry.
He sighed, looked at Zhou Qiqi with a heavy gaze, and said in a low voice:
"The doctor said you probably had an acute attack of angina..."
"What? Heart disease?"
Zhou Qiqi was stunned for a moment, then she remembered.
This is indeed an old problem in the Zhou family, with a genetic component. Her father, Zhou Shuisheng, and her aunt, Zhou Shuhua, both have this trait.
It seems that because a certain part of their heart is naturally weaker than others, people in the Zhou family are prone to flare-ups when they reach a certain age or encounter major stimuli.
Thinking about this, Zhou Qiqi felt even more puzzled:
"I remember... hearing my father mention that the first flare-up of this illness is sudden and severe, requiring immediate medication without delay. I was on the mountain at the time..."
Shen Huaichuan held her hand tightly, his fingertips gently stroking the back of her hand, and said softly:
“It was your teacher’s wife, your aunt Zhou Shuhua. She arrived just in time! She carried emergency medicine with her and used the same first aid method that you used to save her. She managed to get you to the hospital and saved your life.”
"aunt...?"
Zhou Qiqi murmured the name repeatedly, her mind momentarily dazed, "How...how could she..."
When Shen Huaichuan heard her subconsciously call out "Aunt," he understood that after going through this life-or-death experience, the resentment and estrangement she felt towards Zhou Shuhua had finally melted away without her realizing it.
His tone softened, tinged with a hint of emotion:
"This is a long story, we have to start from the beginning. Qiqi, do you remember who was the first to discover that you had been kidnapped?"
Zhou Qiqi nodded; of course she remembered.
Not long after she left the garment factory that day, she had a vague feeling that a bicycle was following her at a distance. At the time, she was puzzled and not quite sure.
It wasn't until she was forced into the van by the thugs and saw the bicycle again through the gap in the van that she suddenly realized what had happened.
Someone is really following her!
And that person was none other than Zhou Shuhua!
The situation was critical at the time, and she had no chance or time to think about why her aunt had appeared.
But now that I think about it, if my aunt hadn't been following her, it would have been impossible to get the news of her kidnapping back so quickly, and it would have been impossible for her to have the opportunity to drop off buttons along the way to give directions.
She felt grateful, but at the same time, a hint of doubt lingered in her heart.
Why is my aunt secretly following me?
Shen Huaichuan explained softly:
“You really can’t blame her for this. Do you remember after Zhouzhou’s accident, you felt a tightness in your chest and felt uncomfortable for a while? Your teacher’s wife noticed something was wrong then. She was worried that this was an early sign of your heart disease and that you were about to have a relapse.”
At that time, the Shen family's minds were all on Zhouzhou, and everyone was on edge.
She was afraid that if she spoke directly, she would be misunderstood as being the one who cursed Qiqi, which would only cause more trouble and make the atmosphere at home even worse.
So... she used the dumbest method.
That is, to follow behind Zhou Qiqi.
She thought that if Qiqi suddenly fell ill outside, she could rush to save her immediately!
Previously, Zhou Qiqi mostly stayed in the family compound, so she tried different ways to talk to the Shen family elders and bring them some food she had made in the morning and evening.
Actually, it was just so I could see Zhou Qiqi a few more times and make sure she was alright.
During that period, Zhou Qiqi was busy with the sampling of the factory's new spring styles, leaving early and returning late every day.
My aunt had to work even harder.
Zhou Qiqi set off for the city on her bicycle around 8 a.m., and she followed behind on her bicycle at a distance.
During the day, she would silently wait in a place not too far from the No. 1 Garment Factory, sometimes for the whole day, and she would not even be able to get a hot meal.
She waited until evening, and only felt relieved when she saw Shen Huaichuan arrive on time to pick up Zhou Qiqi. Then she rode her bicycle for more than an hour, struggling to pedal, back to the military dependents' area.
The Zhou family actually knew about this.
Lei Ming originally wanted to tell Zhou Qiqi that day, but Zhou Qiqi interrupted him before he could say it.
It wasn't just the Zhou family; in fact, Shen Huaichuan had already noticed it long ago.
Although he didn’t know exactly what his teacher’s wife was worried about at first, he knew Zhou Shuhua’s character and knew that she was a stubborn and inflexible person.
Once you've decided what you want to protect, you'll stick to it no matter what.
She treated her younger brother Zhou Shuisheng this way before, and now that same care has been transferred to Zhou Qiqi, and it's still the same.
He could see the careful and measured way his teacher's wife was when she was with Qiqi, and he knew that she would never hurt Qiqi.
So he tacitly accepted this silent protection and let her go.
"So...that's how it is..."
Zhou Qiqi was stunned after hearing this, and muttered to herself.
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