Xu Xinghe mistook the soldiers for guards sent by Jiang Linchuan and waved her hand, "Standing is tiring, sit down and rest for a while."
"No...no need, I'm fine here." The soldier's voice was even lower.
Seeing that he insisted, Xu Xinghe didn't force him anymore and picked up her chopsticks to eat in small bites.
With his cheeks bulging out, he looked like a little squirrel with nuts in his mouth, eating with a satisfied and focused expression.
The soldier lowered his head, his gaze fixed on his cotton shoes.
Besides the aroma of food, there was also a faint scent that belonged to a young woman.
It's not a powdery scent, but a fresh and clean fragrance, like the scent of tiny purple flowers that emerge after the rain, making you feel relaxed without even realizing it.
He glanced up discreetly and saw Xu Xinghe focused on eating. He quickly lowered his head again, his ears turning bright red.
After finishing their meal, the soldiers quickly left with their empty lunchboxes.
He hadn't gone far when Jiang Linchuan appeared from the shadows and handed him the original lunchbox.
Most of the food inside had been eaten, and there were still obvious traces in the remaining scraps, indicating that it was not simply thrown away.
"Go and get Li Xingzhou to come over."
The soldier looked at the lunchbox and was suddenly struck by a sense of awe. His gaze toward Jiang Linchuan became filled with a newfound respect.
This is what our predecessors were thinking!
They even calculated such details perfectly!
"Yes! I'll go right away!"
He hurried back to Li Xingzhou's residence, slammed the lunchbox on the table with a bang, his face long and full of anger. "I've finished eating! From now on, this has nothing to do with me!"
He walked out with his neck stiffened, saying, "Don't come looking for me again, or we'll fight to the death!"
Li Xingzhou watched his angry retreating figure, a contemptuous smile curling at the corner of his lips.
These kinds of petty people are the easiest to manipulate. As long as you have leverage over them, you don't have to worry about them not obeying.
But just to be on the safe side, he opened the lunchbox and took a look.
The leftovers inside did indeed bear traces of someone having eaten there, and there was even a very faint fragrance in the air, the kind of Shanghai jasmine balm that Xu Xinghe often used, which had never changed over the years.
"You wait here, don't wander off."
Li Xingzhou left Wang Zhizhi with a remark, then struggled to his feet and walked out.
The steps that were just a moment ago were now swaying with a renewed sense of urgency.
This is our last chance!
If it succeeds, all the grievances I suffered before can be repaid tenfold!
He took a detour to Xu Xinghe's courtyard.
It was completely dark, and the only sound was the wind, with the occasional passerby.
Xu Xinghe ate the food that had been spiked; at this moment, she must be feeling utterly weak and her mind must be hazy…
He could easily succeed if he just sneaked in!
By then, it will be too late; Xu Xinghe, this withered flower, will have no choice but to marry him.
Just as the wooden door was within reach, a dark figure suddenly emerged from behind the low wall beside him, its tall form almost completely enveloping him.
Li Xingzhou looked up abruptly, and the moment he saw who it was, all the color drained from his face, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
It's Jiang Linchuan!
Wasn't he off on a mission?
Before he could even cry out, Jiang Linchuan had already covered his mouth and dragged him into the empty courtyard next door like a dead dog.
With a thud, Li Xingzhou was slammed heavily onto the cold earthen bed, feeling as if his bones were shattered.
Jiang Linchuan picked up the box of food that hadn't been eaten, grabbed his chin, and shoved the food into his mouth.
"Waaah..." Li Xingzhou struggled desperately, kicking his arms and legs wildly, but the other party's hands were like iron clamps, and he couldn't budge them at all.
Jiang Linchuan grabbed his chin and lifted it up forcefully, then slapped his back hard with his other hand, forcing him to swallow the food.
In the darkness, Jiang Linchuan's expression was obscured; only his icy voice could be heard: "I never intended for you to leave Heilongjiang Province peacefully."
You think you can just walk away after bullying Xu Xinghe?
There's no way it's that cheap!
What's more, this beast even dares to covet his wife!
"Since you've delivered yourself to my door, it saves me the trouble."
Food was forced down Li Xingzhou's throat, making it ache, but he couldn't even cough it up.
Jiang Linchuan's actions were very measured, allowing him to eat without choking him.
Back in the interrogation room, he had fed countless stubborn criminals, and he had long since mastered this skill.
Jiang Linchuan only let go of her hand after she finished half a box of food.
He took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his fingers, his gaze falling on Li Xingzhou, who looked like a lump of mud.
The other person was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) retching incessantly, but couldn't vomit anything. His face turned from white to red, his eyes gradually became unfocused, and he felt an abnormal heat rising throughout his body. Even the wound on his arm seemed to be numb, and the pain gradually lessened.
"Jiang... Jiang Linchuan! I was wrong..." Li Xingzhou pleaded hoarsely, clinging to his last shred of clarity, "Let me go... I'll give you money... I'll tell you everything about Xu Xinghe's past. I'll tell you anything you want to know..."
"I can give you anything you want..."
He was panting heavily, trying to calm Jiang Linchuan down with this method, "If you kill me, you'll become a criminal too... Xu Xinghe won't marry a murderer!"
Jiang Linchuan ignored him and simply stood aside, waiting quietly.
Ten minutes later, Li Xingzhou completely lost his mind. His eyes were unfocused, as if shrouded in mist. His body was hunched over as he scrambled on the earthen bed, making incomprehensible noises.
Jiang Linchuan turned and left, heading straight for Li Xingzhou's residence.
Pushing open the door, Wang Zhizhi was indeed still sitting obediently on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) waiting.
The moment Wang Zhizhi saw him, she jumped to her feet as if pricked by a needle, her voice trembling uncontrollably, and shrank back step by step, "You... how did you get here? What do you want?"
Jiang Linchuan's tall figure blocked the doorway like an impenetrable mountain. "Li Xingzhou needs you."
"I...I'm not going!" Wang Zhizhi backed away repeatedly, instinctively resisting even though she couldn't guess what they were going to do.
She finally understood that Jiang Linchuan was like a block of iron that could never be warmed up; his heart was only filled with Xu Xinghe, and he showed no mercy to anyone else.
The places he sends me to are never good!
"Aren't you going?" Jiang Linchuan didn't press her any further and turned to walk out.
Wang Zhizhi was stunned. What happened? He just left like that?
"Bang!"
The door behind me suddenly slammed shut, the sound of the lock clicking particularly jarring in the quiet night.
She belatedly rushed over and tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge.
The windows in Heilongjiang Province had long been boarded up with thick wooden planks to block the cold wind, leaving not even a crack. Now she had no way to escape!
Jiang Linchuan had already arrived at Lian Xiao's door and knocked. "Come out."
From inside came Lian Xiao's annoyed roar, "Get out!"
"We need your help with Xinghe's matter. Are you sure you can't come out?"
A moment later, the door creaked open.
Lian Xiao stood at the door with a bruised face, the dark circles under his eyes particularly noticeable.
Despite applying ointment and drinking traditional Chinese medicine every day, the wound was still healing slowly.
On New Year's Day, he only dared to go out for a stroll late at night. Fortunately, Xu Xinghe remembered him and brought him a lot of food and supplies.
"Speak your mind, or shut up!" He was still angry.
Jiang Linchuan stepped aside, "Li Xingzhou was about to attack Xinghe, but I've already caught him."
He paused, then added, "Now we need to arrest Wang Zhizhi."
Lian Xiao was baffled. "Then catch it yourself."
"I don't usually lay a hand on women."
He felt it was dirty to even touch Wang Zhizhi, and was even more afraid of getting her filthy, so he wouldn't have the face to hug Xu Xinghe later.
He looked at Lian Xiao and threw out bait, "You do the work, and I'll tell Xing He that it's your achievement."
Lian Xiao narrowed his long, narrow eyes and stared at him. "Don't lie to me."
"I am a man," Jiang Linchuan said firmly.
"Fine, I'll believe you this once." Lian Xiao sneered, deliberately cursing viciously, "If you dare to lie to me, may you get hit by a car as soon as you step out the door. If you don't get hit anywhere else, may you be turned into a eunuch."
As he walked out with his hands in his pockets, he didn't forget to make a few sarcastic remarks to Jiang Linchuan, "What 'not hitting a woman' stuff? It's just useless. If it were me, I wouldn't care about that! A real man should not be bothered by trivial matters."
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