Xing Zhaozhao packed her luggage, quietly left home, took a mountain path to the foot of the mountain, and then pretended to be travel-worn as she returned to the village.
"Oh, isn't this Mingcheng's wife? You're finally back."
"Mingcheng's wife is back! Was the journey alright?"
"Mingcheng's wife..."
After greeting everyone she met in the village, Xing Zhaozhao went straight to Aunt Hao's house.
Aunt Hao had just finished eating and was playing with little Hongling in the yard when she suddenly heard a knock at the door. She went to open it and asked, "Who is it?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as I opened the door, I was met with Xing Zhaozhao's smiling face.
"I'm back, Auntie," Xing Zhaozhao said with a smile as she looked at Aunt Hao.
"Zhaozhao?!" Aunt Hao was overjoyed to see Xing Zhaozhao and quickly pulled her into the house. "Why didn't you send a message before you came back? I could have asked your Uncle Dahan to pick you up at the train station."
Xing Zhaozhao laughed dismissively, "There's no need for such trouble. It's not like I don't know the way. I can get back by myself."
"What's the situation at the military base? Is there really any news about Mingcheng?" Aunt Hao asked with concern.
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head with a regretful expression: "There must be a mistake. There is still no news. However, the military leaders told me not to worry. The fact that there is no news is good news, which means there is still a possibility that he is alive."
Although Aunt Hao also felt it was a pity, she still comforted Xing Zhaozhao: "The commander is right. As long as it is not confirmed, it cannot be said that Mingcheng has had an accident. Mingcheng is so capable. He became a battalion commander at such a young age. He will definitely be fine. You have to believe in him."
"Hmm." Xing Zhaozhao gave a bitter smile and nodded.
After saying that, she looked at Xiao Hongling in Aunt Hao's arms and couldn't take her eyes off her.
However, after not seeing her for a month, Xiao Hongling seemed to have grown even bigger. Her little face was rosy and chubby, and she looked at her with her big, bright eyes. She was incredibly cute.
Aunt Hao looked down at Xiao Hongling in her arms: "Xiao Hongling, look, who is this?"
Xing Zhaozhao also leaned over: "Little Hongling, it's me, your mother. Do you still recognize your mother?"
Xiao Hongling stared intently at Xing Zhaozhao, seemingly not recognizing her and showing no reaction whatsoever.
"What's wrong, Little Hongling? Don't you recognize your mother? Don't you always cry for your mother at night? Why don't you recognize your mother now that she's back?" Aunt Hao asked softly.
Xing Zhaozhao's heart clenched upon hearing this: "Do you cry every night?"
Aunt Hao nodded: "They've been looking everywhere, and it's obvious they're looking for you."
Xing Zhaozhao felt extremely sorry for Xiao Hongling and reached out her hand to her: "Come here, Xiao Hongling, Mommy is back, give me a hug."
"Okay, let Mommy hold our little Hongling." Aunt Hao said, and was about to hand little Hongling to Xing Zhaozhao.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Hongling suddenly turned her head and hugged Aunt Hao's neck tightly, refusing to pay any attention to Xing Zhaozhao.
Xing Zhaozhao felt as if she had been struck by lightning: "She doesn't want me to hug her?"
"After all, it's been so long since we last saw each other, she probably doesn't recognize me. Children this young don't learn their lesson easily. Hold her a few more times, she'll get used to it." Aunt Hao said, forcefully handing Xiao Hongling over to Xing Zhaozhao.
Unexpectedly, before it was even handed to Xing Zhaozhao, Xiao Hongling started struggling and crying.
Xing Zhaozhao immediately hesitated to accept the offer: "Never mind, I'll trouble Aunt Hao to take care of her for a couple more days. I'll get to know her better in a couple of days and then we can talk about it."
Seeing that Xiao Hongling was crying so hard, Aunt Hao could only nod helplessly: "That's all we can do."
Xing Zhaozhao left some of the things she brought back for Aunt Hao: "Auntie, you can take these."
Aunt Hao took one look and saw that apart from the two bottles of wine, there were some rare foods that looked expensive. She was reluctant to accept them: "How can I accept this? These things don't look cheap at all."
Xing Zhaozhao insisted on giving it to her: "Just take it. You've helped me take care of three children for so long. It's just a little something, it's only right. If you don't accept it, how can I ever bother you again?"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Hao had no choice but to accept: "Then... alright."
"I'm going back to check on Dafei and Xiaoyumao first," Xing Zhaozhao said, waving goodbye to Xiao Hongling with reluctance. "Xiao Hongling, Mommy is going back to check on my brothers first, and I'll come to see you later."
Little Hongling still had her back to her, hugging Aunt Hao's neck, sobbing and ignoring her.
Xing Zhaozhao sighed helplessly and had no choice but to turn around and leave. Just as she reached the door, she suddenly heard a heart-wrenching wail behind her.
Her heart tightened, and she immediately turned to look at Xiao Hongling.
Just then, Little Red Riding Hood, who had been ignoring her just moments before, suddenly turned and pounced on her.
Xing Zhaozhao quickly dropped what she was holding, ran over, and hugged the little girl tightly.
Little Hongling clung tightly to Xing Zhaozhao's neck, crying her heart out, and kept rubbing her tear-soaked face against Xing Zhaozhao's, looking as if she absolutely refused to be separated.
Aunt Hao watched in shock: "This little girl, was she throwing a tantrum because you left her here for a month? She couldn't hold back anymore when she saw you were leaving."
Xing Zhaozhao: "..." Really? She's so young, and she already understands this? When her two older brothers were her age, all they knew was eating and sleeping.
Xing Zhaozhao tried to pry her small, chubby arm off her neck, but failed.
The little girl was probably terrified after her mother disappeared for a month, and she refused to be separated from her mother no matter what.
Xing Zhaozhao tried twice but failed, so she simply let her be.
When Xing Zhaozhao returned home with Xiao Hongling, Hongfei and Hongyu had been waiting for her for a long time. As soon as they saw her return, they immediately clung to her.
Xing Zhaozhao guessed that for the next few days, she would probably be inseparable from these three insecure little ones. But that was fine, as it would be a good opportunity to spend time with them and make up for lost time.
The capital city.
That day, Gao Hongfei had just returned home from get off work when Xing Jiashu came looking for him.
Gao Hongfei was somewhat surprised and asked, "Why are you here?"
Xing Jiashu held up the bottle of liquor he had brought: "Forgot? Didn't we agree to drink together?"
Gao Hongfei then remembered the appointment from yesterday. Seeing Xing Jiashu's worried and pitiful look, he smiled helplessly and shook his head: "Then come on over..."
Later that evening, Gao Han came to see Gao Hongfei. As soon as he entered, he smelled a strong smell of alcohol. Then he saw Gao Hongfei and his cousin Xing Jiashu, who were already drunk and staggering in the restaurant.
Seeing the row of empty wine bottles on the table, Gao Han looked surprised: "How did you drink so much?"
"Oh, your cousin's got something on his mind, so he came to confide in your dad." Ying Rongrong was about to leave when she saw Gao Han and asked, "He needs to talk to your dad?"
Gao Han looked at the drunken Gao Hongfei and nodded helplessly: "Mm."
"It seems we can't reach an agreement today. Let's talk about it again tomorrow," Ying Rongrong said, then asked Gao Han, "Have you eaten yet? If not, come out to eat with me."
"Okay." Gao Han agreed and was about to leave with Ying Rongrong when he suddenly heard Xing Jiashu, who was also drunk, slurring his words to Gao Hongfei, "I miss the days when I was little, when Xiao Yu Mao was still here..."
Gao Han suddenly stopped, his foot just raised.
Little feather?
He'd heard that name before...
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