She hadn't expected Shen Huaichuan to ask this so suddenly! Had he discovered something?
Actually, what she just said was all embellished.
She wasn't stupid; how could she stay outside until the middle of the night in this freezing weather? What if she got sick and couldn't give birth to a son for the Shen family in the future?
Besides, she had been traveling all day yesterday and was exhausted.
So, as soon as she arrived at the small house in the resettlement housing, she went to sleep.
I set my alarm for 5 o'clock, but I dawdled and didn't arrive until after 5:30.
A fleeting, almost imperceptible panic crossed her eyes; she thought she'd been caught red-handed.
But she knew she couldn't panic at this moment, so she tried her best to maintain that aggrieved yet composed expression, and nodded gently:
"Yes...yes, Commander Shen, I was worried about Auntie, so I've been waiting outside for her since early morning..."
Shen Huaichuan stared coldly at her and continued to press, "Then do you know approximately what time it was last night..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Qiqi, who was standing behind him, suddenly reached out and gently tugged at the back of his shirt without him noticing.
Shen Huaichuan paused, then subconsciously turned his head slightly, only to see Zhou Qiqi gently shaking her head at him.
Although Shen Huaichuan didn't understand why his wife interrupted him, he had absolute trust in Zhou Qiqi, so he immediately stopped talking and remained silent.
Zhou Qiqi stepped forward, blocking half of his sentence, and with a faint smile on her face, naturally took over the conversation:
"Huaichuan means that he got up around 11 p.m. last night to check if the courtyard gate was properly closed, and glanced outside a few times, but didn't seem to see anyone at the gate? Was it too dark at that time and he didn't see clearly? Or did you go to find a place to shelter from the wind?"
Zhou Qiqi's question was...
He expressed his doubts while giving the other party a way out, and his tone was particularly gentle, as if he had come specifically to speak to He Wanrou.
When He Wanrou first heard Shen Huaichuan's cold and harsh question, her heart jumped into her throat.
Fortunately, Zhou Qiqi took over the conversation and gave her a perfect excuse!
She immediately calmed down and quickly switched back to her pitiful and aggrieved expression.
She even sniffled lightly, her voice trembling with a hint of a sob from being misunderstood:
"Oh, so that's what happened. You scared me..."
She lowered her head, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, and then raised her watery eyes to look at Zhou Qiqi, her tone gentle yet understanding:
“Sister Qiqi, please don’t blame Commander Shen for being suspicious. It was really too dark at the time, and I was afraid that if I got too close, I would disturb your rest and annoy you. So at first, I stayed far away at the corner of the wall at the alley entrance, not daring to get too close to the gate, thinking... thinking that as long as I could hear the noise, that would be fine…”
She became increasingly aggrieved as she spoke, and her voice grew softer and softer:
"I waited until...until it was almost dawn, figuring my aunt and uncle should be awake, before I...before I dared to sneak over to our gate and squat down, hoping to be the first thing to do when they opened the door in the morning..."
This explanation sounds reasonable and perfectly utilizes the emotional appeals of fear of being disturbed, being sensible, and feeling wronged.
After listening, Zhou Qiqi's face showed a look of sudden understanding, which quickly turned into a faint expression of apology and approval. She nodded gently, her tone mild:
"Oh, I see. No wonder I didn't see you in Huaichuan. It was windy and cold last night. You must have had a hard time."
Her words seemed to indicate that she accepted He Wanrou's explanation, lightly turned the page on this matter, and even comforted He Wanrou.
But Shen Huaichuan, standing behind her, frowned even more deeply.
He looked at his wife's calm profile, then at He Wanrou's aggrieved expression. Instead of dispelling his doubts, they snowballed and grew bigger and bigger.
Zhou Qiqi... what exactly is she doing?
It rained briefly last night, and if He Wanrou really stayed outside all night, she would definitely know.
Given her personality, she would definitely say it immediately: isn't being rained on more endearing than being in the wind?
But she didn't mention it at all. Looking at her hair and clothes, they were even neater than Zhou Qiqi's, and she didn't look like she had been caught in the rain.
Zhou Qiqi must know all this, and given her intelligence, she would definitely be suspicious. Why can't I ask her more questions?
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