Xing Zhaozhao walked through the door and returned to the cellar of her home. Before she could even stand up, a small figure rushed over and buried its head in her arms.
“Mom.” It was Hongyu, her voice still choked with sobs.
Xing Zhaozhao stumbled backward from the impact, accidentally aggravating the wound on her waist, and cried out in pain, "Ouch!"
Hongyu quickly stepped back, her eyes red, and asked cautiously, "What's wrong, Mom? Did I hurt you?"
Xing Zhaozhao patted his head reassuringly: "It's okay, you just twisted your head accidentally."
Hongyu looked at her suspiciously: "You really just twisted it, and you're not injured?"
As he spoke, his little hand reached out and tugged at her clothes: "Last night, when we discovered that Mom was missing, my brother suspected that she must have hidden behind the door. When we came to check at dawn, there was indeed a lot of blood."
Xing Zhaozhao couldn't resist him in the end and let him pull his clothes off.
Looking at the bandage wrapped around Xing Zhaozhao's waist, Hongyu pouted angrily: "Mommy is naughty. She's an adult, how can she still lie to people?"
Xing Zhaozhao chuckled sheepishly and apologized to him, "I'm sorry, Mom promises, it won't happen again."
Hongyu believed him. Looking at Xing Zhaozhao's injury, he hissed in empathy and asked, "Does it still hurt?"
"Much better." Xing Zhaozhao said, casually putting aside the things she had brought from over there. Holding Hongyu's little hand, she walked out while asking, "Why are you all alone here? Where's your brother? Is your sister alright?"
“My brother was afraid others would suspect something, so he told me to stay here and wait for you. He went outside to look for you with Aunt Xiuning and the others. My sister is fine too; she's with Grandma Hao,” Hongyu said.
"That's good." Xing Zhaozhao breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "What about the bad guys? Were they all caught?"
Hongyu nodded emphatically with a serious expression: "Yes, they've all been arrested. Grandma Hao said they're all spies and they'll definitely come to a bad end."
Xing Zhaozhao was finally able to relax completely.
Just as they reached the front yard, they encountered Hao Xiuning and Hongfei, who were returning from outside.
Unable to find Xing Zhaozhao, Hao Xiuning's eyes were red and her face was full of frustration.
Hongfei was also somewhat distracted. Although he had guessed where his mother had gone, he was still very worried when he thought of the large pool of blood he had seen in the cellar.
"elder brother."
Suddenly, Hongyu's cheerful shout came from not far ahead. Hongfei's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked up. He saw Xing Zhaozhao standing next to Hongyu, smiling at him. His eyes lit up, his nose tingled, and his eyes immediately reddened.
"Mom!" he called out and rushed towards Xing Zhaozhao. But as he got closer, he remembered the bloodstains and wondered if Xing Zhaozhao was injured somewhere. He stopped abruptly and looked at Xing Zhaozhao, feeling somewhat uneasy.
Xing Zhaozhao smiled and reached out to hug the little guy: "I'm sorry, Dafei, Mom made you worry."
Hongfei choked up, shook his head vigorously, but nestled in his mother's arms and refused to leave.
When Hao Xiuning saw Xing Zhaozhao, tears streamed down her face: "Thank goodness, sister-in-law, you're finally back! Where did you go all night? We were going crazy looking for you, we were so worried, do you know that?"
Xing Zhaozhao looked at Hao Xiuning apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Xiuning, I made you worry. I avoided that person last night. I was injured and covered in blood. I was afraid that coming back would frighten the children, so I went to the town hospital to get my wounds bandaged. I was too tired and fell asleep there before coming back."
Hao Xiuning looked shocked: "You walked all the way to the town hospital by yourself in the middle of the night in complete darkness?"
Xing Zhaozhao pointed to the bandaged wounds on her hands and body: "I had two big cuts on my hands and a stab wound in my waist. I bled a lot. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to hold on if I was late, so I went to get stitches myself. It took a long time."
Hao Xiuning had no suspicions.
Indeed, there's nowhere else that could properly treat her injury except at the town's hospital.
"I'll go tell the captain and the others; they're planning to move to another location and continue searching." With that, Hao Xiuning turned and ran out.
Before long, Captain Gao arrived with a group of people in a great hurry.
Seeing that Xing Zhaozhao was indeed safe and sound, Captain Gao breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that she's alright, it's good that she's alright."
If something really happens, he really doesn't know how to explain it when Mingcheng comes back.
Professor Yang arrived a little late, staggering over as well. When he saw Xing Zhaozhao, her eyes, already red and swollen from crying, were once again filled with tears.
She gripped Xing Zhaozhao's hand tightly: "I'm so glad you're alright. If you hadn't arrived in time last night, Lao Zhou and I might have..."
Professor Yang choked up and couldn't speak, only watching Xing Zhaozhao silently shed tears.
Xing Zhaozhao patted Professor Yang's shoulder reassuringly and said with a smile, "It means that you and Professor Zhou are not destined to die. The good days are yet to come. You should be happy."
Professor Yang nodded vigorously, tears still streaming down his face.
Zheng Ye came with Professor Yang. Looking at Xing Zhaozhao, he couldn't help but ask, "Why would you go to the cowshed so late yesterday?"
Xing Zhaozhao smiled and said, "Oh, I just kept looking at that Li Jian and felt something was off. I was really worried, so I went to the cowshed to check. I didn't expect to actually run into him. If you really ask me why, I can only say that it's probably a woman's intuition."
Zheng Ye's eyes flickered: "You felt something was off about Li Jian, so you went to the cowshed, so... you know about Li Jian's relationship with Professor Zhou and Professor Yang?"
Xing Zhaozhao smiled and said, "What is the relationship between Li Jian and Professor Zhou and Professor Yang? I don't know! Didn't you come here to investigate my relationship with Professor Zhou and Professor Yang? If I think Li Jian has a problem, I'll definitely go to Professor Zhou and Professor Yang, not Professor Li next door."
"..." Zheng Ye couldn't figure out the problem for the time being, so he had no choice but to give up.
Fortunately, she saved Professor Zhou and Professor Yang. Although he couldn't see through her and always felt that she was shrouded in mystery, Zheng Ye decided not to pursue the matter further for the time being.
"You saved Professor Zhou and Professor Yang this time, and also helped capture two spies. You've done a great job. When we get back, I'll apply to the higher-ups for an award for you," Zheng Ye said.
"How could I possibly accept that?" Xing Zhaozhao smiled, her eyes crinkling. She feigned modesty but accepted the offer without hesitation. "Then I'll be waiting."
Only a fool wouldn't want such a benefit.
“After all that commotion last night, Lao Zhou’s health has deteriorated even further. We probably won’t be able to stay here for long; we’ll be heading back to Beijing soon.” Professor Yang said, holding Xing Zhaozhao’s hand and placing a handkerchief in her palm. “This is something I embroidered when I was young. Keep it as a keepsake for you.”
Xing Zhaozhao pinched it and was stunned.
It's hard inside.
Although we don't know what it is yet, Professor Yang is being so secretive, it must be something he's hiding, and it's probably very valuable.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head, trying to decline: "No, it's too..." expensive.
Professor Yang stopped her with a look and insisted, "It's nothing valuable, just a small token of my appreciation."
Xing Zhaozhao met Professor Yang's firm gaze, hesitated for a moment, but still accepted: "Then... okay."
Professor Yang smiled and gave her a tight hug: "If you ever have the chance to go to Beijing, remember to come and see me."
Xing Zhaozhao nodded: "Okay."
After everyone left, Xing Zhaozhao returned to the room, opened the handkerchief, and discovered a jade pendant lying inside. It was crystal clear and obviously very valuable.
It's too expensive.
She sighed helplessly, wrapped the handkerchief up again, and hid it somewhere.
I'll find another opportunity to return it later.
The next day, a car came to the village and picked up Professor Zhou and Professor Yang.
Xing Zhaozhao brought the child to see them off and was about to go back when she suddenly felt a malicious gaze looking at her from the side.
She turned her head and met Zhang Wenming's resentful eyes.
After several unsuccessful attempts to cause trouble, Zhang Wenming had lost all popular support in the village and was practically hated by everyone.
However, Xing Zhaozhao ignored the stray dog and left with the children.
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