Occasionally, the chirping of insects would drift from the edge of the field, only to be swept away by the wind and scattered into the empty night.
He had only one thought in his mind.
This time, no one can take him away from them again.
No matter who it is or what method they use, it won't work.
The two children were already fast asleep.
Zhouzhou lay on Lu Jichuan's lap, her head bobbing up and down like a drunken duck. Every time she was about to fall, she would suddenly jolt awake and hold on. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, her little face turned to the side, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Zhenzhen leaned against Song Ye's shoulder, her small body curled up, her little hands still tightly gripping the hem of his military uniform.
But she was sleeping soundly, with a faint smile on her lips.
Yang Wenbing was driving.
He held the steering wheel with one hand and adjusted the rearview mirror from time to time with the other.
The original plan was to switch to Song Ye halfway through the trip.
But Song Ye spent two whole hours running into the city that morning, covering more than 20 miles round trip.
In order to get things done before dawn, everyone was already so sleepy that their eyelids were drooping, let alone driving for another two hours on mountain roads.
Yang Wenbing could see that he couldn't hold on any longer, so he offered, "Let me do it."
Song Ye didn't refuse, but nodded to him and whispered "Thank you for your hard work" before closing his eyes and leaning against the car window.
The car moved forward slowly, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Once outside Nan'an City, the dirt roads became increasingly dilapidated.
Yang Wenbing had no choice but to keep pressing the accelerator and inching forward little by little.
Every time we encountered a deep pothole, I would subconsciously ease off the accelerator and carefully maneuver around it, afraid of waking the two little kids in the back seat.
Lu Jichuan kept staring out the window, his gaze following the fleeting shadows of the trees.
Suddenly, he lifted his eyelids and his gaze froze.
There was a man by the roadside with a deep, long scar on his face, running from the corner of his left eye all the way to his chin.
The man was dressed in shabby clothes and was carrying a dusty, tattered cloth bag. He was walking slowly forward.
The car didn't stop speeding, and in the blink of an eye, it left the person behind.
Lu Jichuan subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the man suddenly stop, turn around, and stare intently at the taillights of their car.
It took him a good ten seconds to slowly turn around, his figure gradually swallowed by the night.
The mountain road that usually takes two hours to reach took almost three hours to drive today.
It was completely dark, with only a few stars hanging sparsely on the horizon.
The moon was partially obscured by clouds, and the light was dim.
The car swayed and bumped, finally lurching into the entrance of Qingshan Village.
The only streetlight at the village entrance had just come on.
The dim, yellowish light, like an oil lamp, swayed gently in the night breeze.
The villagers working in the fields were lining up to put their fingerprints on the work point book, each one so tired that they could hardly straighten their backs.
Suddenly, they heard the roar of an engine approaching from afar, and they were all stunned.
We looked at each other, our eyes filled with surprise and doubt.
What time is it?
Why are there still cars driving into the village?
Could something have happened?
Wang Chunhua was squatting by the roadside eating a sweet potato when she heard the noise. She slapped her thigh and grinned, her voice sharp and loud.
"Ha! It must be Lu Jichuan who's dead! There's been no news of him for years, and the first thing he comes back to is bring back a corpse—it must be the corpse that's been brought back!"
Before he could finish speaking, a figure suddenly rushed out from the crowd.
Yin Hua rushed forward and pulled him away.
With a "ripping" sound, Wang Chunhua's hair was grabbed hard.
Then, "Slap! Slap!"
Two resounding slaps landed, clean and crisp.
Shut your mother's stinking mouth!
Yin Hua gritted her teeth, her eyes reddening, "Who gave you permission to gossip like that?!"
The car door slowly slid open, making a slight creaking sound.
Zhouzhou fell down first, landing on her bottom without crying. She turned her head and saw Lu Jinhe, her little face lighting up.
"Auntie."
Lu Jinhe's mind went blank, and she almost lost her balance.
All the sounds around me blurred instantly, leaving only that childlike call echoing in my mind.
Zhouzhou struggled to get up from the ground, her chubby little hands supporting her on the ground, and with a kick of her little legs, she wobbled and ran towards Lu Jinhe.
"Dad, Mom! My sister-in-law and the others are back!"
She screamed and rushed over to hug him tightly.
Lu Jinhe finally came to her senses, disregarding her image, and lunged forward.
She crouched down, opened her arms, and hugged the soft little body tightly in her embrace.
My nose brushed against the child's warm cheek, and a familiar yet fresh milky scent mixed with a faint baby oil smell wafted over.
She was so excited that she was incoherent, almost shouting.
A neighbor, who was eating sunflower seeds under the eaves in the distance, peeked out.
Everyone knew that this family was finally reunited.
Zhouzhou is chubby, and her face is rounder than before.
Lu Jinhe's heart melted, and she lowered her head to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"My little darling, who fed you so much? You look so chubby!"
The buttons on her little cotton-padded jacket were almost bursting, and her wrists and thighs were full of fleshy folds that could be squeezed to create a small dent.
Lu Jinhe cupped her face in his hands, looking at her from left to right, growing happier with each glance, and couldn't resist giving her another big kiss.
"Whose little lucky baby is this?"
Her eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled.
"You're probably eating meat every meal and drinking soup every night, aren't you? If this keeps up, I won't even recognize you during the New Year!"
Zhouzhou giggled as she was kissed, waving her little hands and mumbling "Auntie, hug me!"
Song Ye also led Zhenzhen out of the car.
Just as he was about to reach out to help Lu Jichuan, the other person glared at him, and his hand froze in mid-air.
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