Jiang Wanqing frowned. Something about those words sounded strange. She knew he was an upright person, and his unconscious words didn't seem to be directed at her. So...
She ate a small bowl of porridge with a bitter taste, her mind filled with doubts, while Cheng Ran calmly took her to school.
The two parted ways at the school gate, and he did not walk her to the teaching building.
"I have some things to do later, so I'll drop you off here for today. Go to class now, see you tonight." He brushed the fallen leaves off her shoulder and said normally.
For some reason, Jiang Wanqing felt uneasy. She opened her mouth, but time was limited, so she could only ask one question.
Where are you going?
"I'm going to the post office. A former comrade wrote to me; I'm going to pick it up."
That's normal, Jiang Wanqing nodded.
"Okay, I'm going to class now."
"Um."
She walked into the school gate, glancing back at him every now and then; he was still standing at the gate waving at her.
She took a deep breath and walked towards the teaching building. There was no point in worrying about anything now. She thought she should go back early today and talk to him. If there was anything wrong, she could resolve it as soon as possible.
Only after watching her disappear from sight did Cheng Ran turn and leave. It was true that he went to the post office, but besides picking up his own mail, he had other things to do.
He handed his marriage certificate and military officer's ID to the counter staff and said politely, "Hello, please let me know if there are any letters from this Comrade Jiang Wanqing recently. I am her husband. She is currently unable to collect the mail, so I will do it for her."
"OK."
The staff responded and searched, and indeed found two letters addressed to Jiang Wanqing, which she then handed to Cheng Ran.
"Here, this is a letter from your spouse. It was supposed to be delivered today, but since you're here, I'll give it to you."
"Thanks."
He put the letter in his pocket, quickly left the post office, and then stopped by a telephone kiosk near his home.
Jiang Wanqing usually likes to call her parents from here.
"Comrade Cheng, you're making a phone call too?"
"I'm not making a phone call, I just want to ask you for a favor." Cheng Ran took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to the newsstand owner.
"Oh dear... that won't do. Just tell me what's wrong, and I'll definitely help if I can. There's no need for that."
The old man didn't dare accept his cigarette and quickly pushed it back, but Cheng Ran swiftly tossed it into the basket.
"This is for you. Although it's not a big deal, I hope you can keep it a secret for me."
"you say."
Cheng Ran looked a little worried: "If my wife calls me recently, please refuse her."
"Huh? This... It's not good to refuse her, is there something wrong?"
Upon hearing about the job, the old man immediately hesitated to agree. After all, he was running a business, and there was no reason to turn people away. He relied on this small amount of money to keep operating, and he couldn't just stop providing telephone service because of someone's request.
"To be honest, something happened at my wife's family, and I don't want it to affect her studies. I'll tell her after it's all resolved, but I can't let her know right now, so this call..."
"Oh, I see."
After understanding, the old man nodded. Over the years, he had seen many white lies, and since there was a legitimate reason, he couldn't ruin the relationship.
"I'll make up for your losses, and then I'll leave the matter to you."
Cheng Ran took out a few more yuan and placed them on the glass display case. The old man glanced at them, pushed them back, turned around, weighed the cigarettes in the basket, and put them in his pocket.
"I won't take the money, and I won't return the cigarettes. I know what you're talking about, and I'll try my best to keep it from you. But I think your wife is a smart woman; whatever she guesses is none of my business." The old man preemptively distanced himself from responsibility.
"Okay, you don't need to worry about the rest."
"Okay, don't worry!"
After making the arrangements, Cheng Ran returned to the family compound, where several comrades and colleagues in military uniforms waited for him for a while.
Sister-in-law Song stood at her doorway for a while, then realized something was amiss. She quickly retreated inside.
"Let's go inside and talk; it's not convenient outside," Cheng Ran said to the comrades.
"No need. You may need to come with us to cooperate with the investigation until the matter is clarified before you can return."
Those comrades looked stern and impartial, and Cheng Ran frowned slightly, his fingers tightening.
Seeing that he didn't speak, the men stepped forward and held his hands and shoulders down.
He easily broke free, straightened the wrinkles in his clothes, and remained calm.
"I have one more thing to ask my neighbor, my wife. I'll go with you after I finish speaking."
"good."
While listening to the commotion outside, Sister Song was suddenly knocked on the door. She cautiously opened the door and saw someone standing there.
"Sister Song, can I trouble you with something? I can't pick up Wanqing from Huada University today, and I won't be home for a while either. When she comes back tonight, could you please tell her that I have to go out?"
"You..."
Although she wasn't part of the company, the scale of the incident suggested it was no small matter, and the neighbors were understandably worried.
"It's nothing serious, but I need to trouble you to keep Wanqing calm and not let her worry."
"It's almost time, let's go," the comrade behind him urged.
"Okay, I'll tell him for you to come back soon."
"Thanks."
Watching them leave, Sister Song couldn't calm down for a long time. She could only sigh and lament that this family was really having one problem after another.
That afternoon, Jiang Wanqing waited for Cheng Ran at school for a long time but he didn't show up. This had never happened before.
In the end, she had no choice but to take the bus back. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she rushed home, but when she opened the door, there was no one in sight.
But Cheng Ran clearly said he was resting these past few days, so where could he have gone? He couldn't have just disappeared into thin air.
"Wanqing!"
Just as she was wondering what was going on, Sister Song called her name, and when she turned around, she saw the woman waving at her.
"Come here, your sister-in-law has saved some food for you, come and have some."
"Sister-in-law, do you know where Cheng Ran went?"
She walked to Sister Song's door, not wanting to eat, but only wanting to know Cheng Ran's whereabouts.
"Come in, come in and talk."
Suddenly, her sister-in-law pulled her into the house and made her sit down.
"Sister-in-law, you..."
"Don't worry, here's what happened. This morning, Cheng Ran suddenly received an urgent notice that he had to leave for a while to handle some matters. He left in a hurry and asked me to tell you so you wouldn't worry."
She looked into Sister Song's eyes: "Really?"
"Of course it's true, would I lie to you?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to question you, it's just..."
Jiang Wanqing hesitated, her eyes flickering. Given the nature of Cheng Ran's work, she would have believed this reason without a doubt under normal circumstances. However, he had clearly been acting strangely these past two days, which is why she couldn't help but speculate.
"Just what?"
"It's nothing." She stood up and thanked her, "Thank you, sister-in-law. I'm so glad to know that Cheng Ran is alright. You should rest now. I won't bother you any longer. We haven't finished the porridge at home this morning. I'll go back and heat it up."
"Hey, no..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
