“Yongde?” Xing Zhaozhao looked at Ling Xiao and asked curiously, “Are you very familiar with Ling Yongde?”
Ling Xiao pointed to the man standing behind him: "Yongde has been with me since he was a child."
Xing Zhaozhao was surprised to find Ling Yongde there and looked up in astonishment: "He's Ling Yongde?"
Ling Yongde has an ordinary square face with no special features, just two ordinary eyes, a nose, and a mouth. He's the kind of person you can spot in a crowd.
Seeing the smug look on Aunt Ling's face when she mentioned their old man, Xing Zhaozhao had wondered what kind of person this man, who could expand his territory from Qingxi Town to their Lanyuan Town, would be. But seeing him now, she was indeed a little surprised; he was surprisingly ordinary.
Ling Yongde did not react in any particular way to Xing Zhaozhao's probing gaze. He only glanced at her indifferently and did not say anything, appearing as if he always followed Ling Xiao's lead.
Xing Zhaozhao couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly. Perhaps he wasn't as ordinary as she thought.
“Absolutely the real deal.” Ling Xiao said, then continued, “So, why are you looking for Yongde? You two have never met before, right, Yongde?”
"No," Ling Yongde said, then fell silent again, as if he had never existed.
“I’ve never seen him before, I’ve only heard of him.” Xing Zhaozhao said with a faint smile, “The day before yesterday, I was returning from visiting my family in the army and happened to pass through your Qingxi Town. I was walking along the street when a little kid bumped into me. I didn’t want to bother with him, after all, he’s just a child. But that brat not only didn’t apologize after bumping into me, he also cursed me for not being careful. I was furious and said I was going to find his parents and have a good talk with them. But instead of being scared, he brazenly gave out his father’s name…”
Xing Zhaozhao paused, smiled at Ling Yongde, and continued, "He even yelled at me, telling me to go ahead and look, and not to blame him for not reminding me if I got beaten up. Since he said that, I felt it would be a shame not to look for him."
Ling Xiao didn't doubt Xing Zhaozhao at all. On the contrary, he felt that her story sounded very familiar, like something his little rascal would do.
His lips twitched, and he asked, "Are you sure you didn't mishear? He mentioned Yongde's name? Yongde's son usually stays in the village and rarely comes to town."
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head and said, "I'm sure I didn't mishear. He said he was Ling Yongde's second son."
Ling Xiao was startled and quickly turned to exchange a surprised look with Ling Yongde. He then looked at Xing Zhaozhao seriously and said, "Then you must be mistaken. Yongde only has one son and three daughters. He doesn't have a second son."
Xing Zhaozhao was shocked and exclaimed, "How is that possible?" If Ling Yongde only has one son, then who is her granddaughter-in-law's father?
Ling Xiao was surprised by Xing Zhaozhao's reaction. He glanced at her in astonishment and said, "Whether you believe it or not, it is indeed true. However, what you just said sounds like something my little brat would do."
Xing Zhaozhao quickly suppressed her shock, smiled, and said, "No, I just met yours today."
After saying that, Xing Zhaozhao looked apologetically at Ling Yongde and said, "Maybe that child was really afraid that I would look for his parents, so he gave me a random name. I made a mistake. I'm sorry."
"It's nothing," Ling Yongde said, and that was it, as concise as ever.
"Looks like you haven't had much luck these past few days." Ling Xiao looked at Xing Zhaozhao and smiled faintly. "You keep running into trouble with 'petty people.' Just the day before yesterday, you were bumped into by some little brat, and today you've been provoked by my little brat. I wonder what he's done this time. I apologize to you in advance."
"Huh?" Xing Zhaozhao was taken aback. Realizing he had misunderstood, she quickly explained, "Your son didn't do anything to me. He fell into the Qingxi River earlier, but luckily we happened to be there when we arrived and rescued him in time. He's still in the hospital now."
Ling Xiao was immediately shocked and stood up abruptly: "What?"
Xing Zhaozhao stood up and said, "Don't worry, he's fine now. The doctor said he might have a lung infection and needs to be hospitalized for observation for two days. He still has a fever. I asked him for the address and came to find you as soon as possible. After all, it's better to have his biological parents by his side than to be an outsider like me."
Ling Xiao felt a sense of relief upon hearing this and said gratefully, "Thank you." After saying that, he immediately went to the hospital. No matter how much he scolded the little brat, he was still his own son.
Ling Yongde was originally going to go along too, but just as he stepped out, someone came looking for him. He looked apologetically at Ling Xiao: "Master..."
Ling Xiao had always trusted him, so he didn't ask any questions. He nodded and said, "Go ahead and do your thing. I can handle Xiao Ze's situation myself."
Xing Zhaozhao left with Ling Xiao. After walking a short distance, she suddenly felt a pang of emotion and couldn't help but turn her head to look at Ling Yongde.
Ling Yongde turned his head to talk to the person who came to find him, when suddenly a glint flashed in his eyes, as if he had noticed something, and he turned to look at Xing Zhaozhao.
Xing Zhaozhao quickly turned around, pretending she knew nothing, and continued to follow Ling Xiao as they left together.
When Xing Zhaozhao and Ling Xiao arrived at the hospital, Ling Ze was already on an IV drip. His face was still flushed, but it wasn't too hot to the touch anymore. The little guy was sleeping soundly and was quite peaceful.
Ling Xiao thoroughly examined his son, making sure there were no other problems, before he could finally relax completely.
The nurse happened to come over, and when she saw Xing Zhaozhao, her eyes lit up. She immediately came up to her and asked, "You're back? Did anything happen in Houxi?"
"No." Xing Zhaozhao shook her head with a smile, pointing to Ling Xiao beside her, "I brought the little guy's father here."
"That's good." The nurse breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Ling Xiao.
"Hello," Ling Xiao immediately asked the nurse, "How is my son now?"
The nurse smiled and said, "The fever has subsided, so you should be fine. However, just to be on the safe side, it's best to stay in the hospital for a couple more days for observation."
Ling Xiao nodded understandingly: "Thank you for your help."
"It's nothing, it's what we should do, it's serving the people." The nurse said, looking around. Besides the two of them, there was only Wang Xiaofa, her little follower. She asked curiously, "Didn't the child's mother come with us?"
Ling Xiao's expression stiffened for a moment, and his voice turned cold as he said, "The child's mother... is no longer here."
The nurse quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
Ling Xiao's lips moved as if he wanted to explain something, but in the end, he didn't say anything.
The nurse looked at Ling Ze on the bed with heartache: "No wonder the little guy grabbed this woman and called her 'Mom' when he first came here, and even when he was delirious with fever, he kept calling her that. It turns out he missed his mom."
Ling Xiao only then realized there was this connection, and looked at Xing Zhaozhao gratefully: "Thank you."
"It's alright, I have children too, I understand." Xing Zhaozhao smiled at Ling Xiao nonchalantly, then said goodbye, "I have other things to do, I'll be going now."
Ling Xiao nodded: "If you need any help, you can come to me. As long as it's within the territory of Qingxi Town, I can help you."
"Definitely." Xing Zhaozhao nodded with a smile, then turned and left with Wang Xiaofa.
Wang Xiaofa followed Xing Zhaozhao with sparkling eyes, whispering in her ear, "He speaks with such grandeur, Sister Xing, unlike my brother, who's so rustic and rough."
"..." Xing Zhaozhao glanced at him speechlessly. Who talks about their own brother like that?
As Xing Zhaozhao reached the door of the ward, she suddenly saw Gao Qingshan and Uncle Dahan approaching with solemn expressions, followed by Grandma Fu and Fu Hong, who were constantly wiping away tears. Her heart sank.
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