The noise from smashing the glass was so loud that even Director Lin, who was separated by a grove of trees, heard it, and Zhou Shuhua, who was inside the building, naturally heard it as well.
She was crocheting a sweater when the sudden noise startled her, causing the crochet hook to prick her fingertip with a "plop," and blood instantly welled up.
But she didn't bother wiping it off; she quickly threw the sweater aside, grabbed the keys, and rushed over.
"Zhou Qiqi, are you... are you out of your mind? Why did you break the glass?"
The commotion made Zhou Shuhua a little flustered. The key rattled and fell to the ground with a clatter, and she couldn't open the door for a long time.
Just then, Director Lin arrived with two soldiers. Seeing Zhou Shuhua standing at the door, unharmed, he patted his chest.
"Director Zhou, I thought something had happened to you! I'm so glad you're alright, so glad you're alright..."
Zhou Shuhua turned pale, clutched her chest, and tremblingly handed over the keys in her hand.
"Stop talking and quickly help open the door."
Director Lin raised an eyebrow. "Did someone really lock it inside?"
He quickly pried open the iron gate and saw Zhou Qiqi wrapped in a sofa cushion, leaning against the windowsill, the hammer in her hand falling onto the broken glass with a "clang".
"Zhou Qiqi, why are you locked here? What happened?"
Director Lin walked over in a few steps and found that her face was pale, her forehead was covered in cold sweat, she was curled up in a ball clutching her stomach, her eyelids were slightly raised, and she looked like she was about to faint at any moment.
He quickly called out to those behind him, "Xiao Song, quickly pick him up and take him to the clinic!"
Zhou Qiqi's vision blurred, and it took her a long time to make out who it was. She waved weakly.
"Director Lin, there's no need to go to the clinic. Just take me home. I have... I have medicine at home."
Director Lin noticed that she seemed listless when she spoke, and his brows furrowed.
"That won't do! You're in this state! You can't just take any medicine! Xiao Song, hurry up!"
Xiao Song responded with an "Yes," and reached out to hug the person, but his wrist was suddenly grabbed.
The grip was as strong as an iron clamp, and a deep voice said, "I'll do it."
Upon hearing the voice, Zhou Qiqi's eyes lit up, and she looked up at the person who had entered.
"Huaichuan, you've come..."
Those few words brought tears to her eyes.
It's strange, but when Zhou Shuhua locked her in the room earlier, and she was sweating profusely from stomach pain, and even when she picked up a hammer to smash the glass, she didn't feel wronged at all. She was already used to taking responsibility on her own.
But when she saw Shen Huaichuan, that feeling of grievance suddenly welled up, and her eyes uncontrollably welled up with tears.
This was something she had never experienced in either of her lives—the feeling of having family backing her up.
Seeing the moisture in the corners of her eyes, Shen Huaichuan felt as if his heart was being pricked by needles, and with a "plop," he knelt down in front of her.
He reached out and gently tucked the stray hairs damp with cold sweat behind her ear. "I'm sorry I'm late."
Seeing that his knees landed directly on the broken glass, Zhou Qiqi hurriedly tried to warn him, "Be careful of the glass, don't..."
Shen Huaichuan gently pressed his fingertips against her lips. "Shh, don't talk. Let's take you home to take your medicine first."
He carefully picked her up and carried her out, nodding to Director Lin as they left, without ever glancing at Zhou Shuhua.
Just as I arrived at the door, I bumped into Political Commissar Lei rushing over.
When Director Lin was on the phone reporting his work, he heard that something had happened in Zhou Shuhua's office, so he hung up and rushed over here.
Political Commissar Lei was still confused about what was going on. "Huaichuan, what happened?"
Shen Huaichuan's face was ashen, his eyes as cold as ice in the twelfth lunar month, and he only uttered one sentence.
"You should ask Director Zhou about this."
After saying that, he picked up Zhou Qiqi and strode away.
Political Commissar Lei watched his retreating figure, then glanced at the broken window inside the room, his face instantly darkening as he looked at Zhou Shuhua.
"What exactly happened?"
"I..."
Zhou Shuhua was still carrying a first-aid kit. The energy she had been circling around earlier was gone. Under such a stare, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a coherent sentence for a long time.
Meanwhile, Shen Huaichuan quickly carried Zhou Qiqi into the car.
When we got home, we made her lie down and asked Qin Lei to get some water.
Zhou Qiqi had just settled down when Qin Lei returned with a thermos. "So fast?"
Qin Lei wiped his sweat. "Boiling water was too slow, so I just went to Aunt Zhu's house next door to get some."
Zhu Yingying went to the publishing house today and wasn't home, but she left a key to her house at Zhou Qiqi's house.
Shen Huaichuan poured a cup of hot water, blew on it gently, and said, "Take your medicine first."
After drinking hot water and taking medicine, Zhou Qiqi felt better and hurriedly asked...
"Why did you suddenly come? How did you know I was with Director Zhou?"
Shen Huaichuan tucked the blanket around her.
"Xiangyang saw it; he said he saw you being taken away by the security guards."
The Liao brothers had bullied Chen Duzhou before, and this kid held a grudge. When he saw Zhou Qiqi leave with the security guards, he kept an eye on things and stayed nearby playing with his iron hoop. As soon as he saw the Jeep return, he ran off to report it.
Zhou Qiqi couldn't help but laugh, "This kid is quite clever."
Qin Lei nodded vigorously, "That's right! If he hadn't told the regimental commander, and the commander hadn't arrived in time, you, sister-in-law, would have suffered so much!"
Shen Huaichuan frowned.
"You can't say that. When I got there, your sister-in-law had already broken the glass. She can handle it herself."
As he said this, his eyes shone with undisguised admiration.
In his twenty-five years of life, he had never met such a fiery girl, like a ball of fire, capable of handling anything on her own. But then he felt guilty; he had arrived too late, and she had suffered for nothing.
Shen Huaichuan lowered his head in self-reproach, while Qin Lei stared wide-eyed.
"What? My sister-in-law broke the glass? Is her hand alright?"
Zhou Qiqi shook her head. She also noticed Shen Huaichuan's expression and thought he was worried about her hand, so she quickly stretched out her palm and shook it from side to side.
"It's nothing, it's nothing. I just used a little too much force and my hand is a bit numb. I'm not injured at all, it doesn't hurt at all."
In fact, Shen Huaichuan had already checked her in the car. Now, he held her hand and tucked it back into the blanket, his voice soft and gentle.
"Okay, take the medicine and sleep for a while. The pain will go away when you're asleep."
"good."
After a long day of fussing, Zhou Qiqi was indeed exhausted. She nodded, closed her eyes, and fell asleep almost immediately.
Seeing that her breathing had evened out and her complexion had improved, Shen Huaichuan quietly left the room and spoke to Qin Lei.
"You stay home and keep an eye on things. I'm going out for a bit, I'll be right back."
"Commander, what's going on...?"
Qin Lei was about to ask where they were going when he looked up and saw Shen Huaichuan's face, which was so cold it could drop ice crystals. He hadn't seen this expression since his sister-in-law entered the house, and he was so frightened that he quickly swallowed his words back.
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