Chapter 146 He Zhao could effortlessly and naturally utter some cloyingly sweet nothings, but this…
He Zhao could effortlessly utter cloyingly sweet nothings, but when it came to genuinely expressing her feelings, she became somewhat embarrassed. Because her declaration at this moment would appear a little coquettish, and her reasoning would be rather childish—she simply wanted to.
Good heavens! Even when she was very young, if her parents were away working for days and didn't come home, she would never cling to her mother like this. But now, after only a few hours apart, even though they had met at the Countermeasures Bureau yesterday afternoon and she had dinner with Qiao Yanyu, she was clinging to her mother like this just because she hadn't come to keep her company last night. He Zhao felt embarrassed.
But Qiao Yanyu didn't overthink it, and she would express her feelings frankly and openly. Unlike He Zhao, who genuinely felt embarrassed and became hesitant in his actions, Qiao Yanyu, though her ears were red and she was a little shy, still expressed her feelings.
“I miss you too.” She added a final word to show how much she missed you: “Really.”
Qiao Yanyu would never deceive He Zhao, so she genuinely wanted to. This was simply unbelievable for Qiao Yanyu. When she was working, she was usually completely focused, and she wouldn't even frown while working for ten or twenty hours at a time, nor would she be attracted by anything else; she would bury her mind solely in her work.
But last night was different. The meeting left her dizzy and disoriented. When she went to the break room for water, she couldn't help but think of He Zhao. She wondered if He Zhao had encountered any trouble, if he had run into a situation that Wang Yu couldn't handle, and whether Wang Yu could actually protect He Zhao.
When Wang Yu sent a text message saying that she had escorted He Zhao home, Qiao Yanyu wondered if He Zhao was asleep. She also wondered if he was scared when he encountered a ghost like the one in the red wedding dress at night.
Whenever she had a spare moment, Qiao Yanyu would think of He Zhao. It was all Jiu Qing's fault, really. During meetings, she would occasionally give people time to rest, and while others genuinely rested, Qiao Yanyu's mind was filled with thoughts of He Zhao. And tonight, during the meeting, Jiu Qing even brought up He Zhao's situation.
She even suspected there was something fishy about He Zhao's little stall and that it should be placed under close surveillance. Qiao Yanyu's fist hardened again, but the bureau chief stopped her. It wasn't right to keep beating up the team leader sent down from above, and the bureau chief had also discussed with Qiao Yanyu that their area wasn't a big city, and the situation wasn't as serious as in other regions. The reason a special task force was sent here might be because He Zhao's affairs had indeed attracted the attention of higher-ups.
That said, if the bureau chief hadn't also interacted with He Zhao before, and if He Zhao hadn't been so helpful in previous matters, she would also have found He Zhao very suspicious. Qiao Yanyu's mission to protect He Zhao was also partly motivated by a desire to monitor him.
It was Qiao Yanyu who turned herself against him. From the director's perspective, Jiu Qing's directness and lack of tact were somewhat infuriating, but her suspicion of He Zhao was understandable. Therefore, she suppressed Qiao Yanyu's suspicions and even privately discussed the matter with her in detail:
“If you hit her again now, she might kick you out of the special investigation team. You won’t even be able to attend meetings, and who knows if Jiuqing will take any targeted actions against He Zhao. It’s better to stay put; at least you can protect He Zhao.”
The director's words made a lot of sense, so Qiao Yanyu held back.
Qiao Yanyu really disliked meetings, but there was nothing she could do. On the first day of the special investigation team's arrival, besides holding meetings and exchanging information, they couldn't do anything else. They had to sort things out before they could do anything else.
The tedious and exhausting meeting lasted until 5 a.m., a time when He Zhao had already gone to sleep, before finally ending because of Wang Yu. Wang Yu brought in some coffee and immediately said, "Wow, you guys are still in a meeting? Are you going to do any more visits tomorrow? I don't have the energy to run around tomorrow."
For once, the unreliable Wang Yu was considered reliable by Qiao Yanyu and Li Xia. Indeed, Li Xia, as an unofficial member, was also present. Her main responsibility was to take notes during the meeting, and as a witness to the previous "tall guy" incident, she also had to provide some oral accounts. Li Xia wasn't a combatant; most of the time she played a supporting role. Although she had a lot of work to do, she wouldn't continue holding meetings with such a lack of boundaries.
Therefore, for Li Xia, Wang Yu's voice was simply heavenly.
Having said that, there was nothing more to say. Jiuqing could only dismiss the group, assign tasks for tomorrow, and let everyone go home to rest. Qiao Yanyu was rather unlucky; tomorrow she would have to go with Jiuqing to take care of the red wedding dress that had only appeared tonight.
It was also a ghost whose appearance didn't match its true form, and Wang Yu judged that he was no match for it, and it didn't have that kind of strong aggression, which is why it attracted Jiu Qing's attention.
Qiao Yanyu agreed and immediately got into Wang Yu's car to have someone take her home. On the way, Wang Yu whispered He Zhao's instructions to her to deal with the child ghost. She didn't tell Jiu Qing or any other members of the investigation team about this.
Wang Yu also had her own little scheme; she unconditionally sided with He Zhao. Although she didn't know why Qiao Yanyu had punched Jiu Qing, the team leader who came from above, she subconsciously felt it was related to He Zhao, otherwise Qiao Yanyu wouldn't have reacted so strongly.
Normally, Qiao Yanyu is very businesslike, and she only gets this excited when He Zhao is involved.
Wang Yu deduced the reason and instantly knew what to do. She definitely couldn't side with Jiu Qing. Not only was she a member of the Countermeasures Bureau and should have been on their side, but He Zhao had so much delicious food; did she even want to eat it? How could she be a traitor?
Qiao Yanyu was unhappy that Jiu Qing was targeting He Zhao. If Jiu Qing found out that He Zhao was asking Wang Yu to do something, she would definitely stop him. Wang Yu was just unreliable, not stupid. With a little thought, she would soon figure out what to do.
They did it secretly, without making a sound. Wang Yu didn't tell anyone about this.
After listening to Wang Yu's words, Qiao Yanyu nodded and said, "Then do as He Zhao said and finish it as soon as possible."
"no problem."
Wang Yu escorted the person home, and Qiao Yanyu went upstairs, first to He Zhao's door. Her ears were sharp; she could hear He Zhao's even breathing through the door. Knowing He Zhao was asleep, she felt relieved.
It was already six in the morning, but Qiao Yanyu had no intention of going to sleep; she planned to organize her materials a little longer. However, she didn't go to the study, but instead chose the dining table in the living room. She knew that this way, He Zhao would see her immediately when he woke up.
Just as she expected, He Zhao immediately pounced on her after getting up. A lot of his messy hair stuck up on his forehead and swayed a few times as he lunged at her. In Qiao Yanyu's eyes, it was quite cute.
Hearing He Zhao say he missed her, Qiao Yanyu's heart softened. It seemed that her resolute heart could only soften because of He Zhao.
However, the next moment, He Zhao began to seriously ask Qiao Yanyu if she had rested and if she had slept since returning. If it were someone else, they might have told a white lie to avoid being scolded by He Zhao. But Qiao Yanyu wasn't that kind of person; she wouldn't lie. So even knowing He Zhao would be angry, she still answered, "Not yet..."
This was outrageous! He Zhao, who had just been a shy and delicate little girl, instantly transformed into a tigress. She looked furious: "How could you not rest? You didn't get a proper rest the night before last, and yesterday you went to the Countermeasures Bureau early in the morning. Not only did you not come back all night, but you still haven't had a proper night's sleep!"
She even started to calculate: "Sister Qiao, you'll die young if you keep going like this! Look, you're already a few years older than me, and you still stay up all night every day, not caring about your own life at all. Are you going to leave me behind and go first?"
He Zhao deliberately spoke very heavily, and sure enough, he saw a trace of anxiety and guilt on Qiao Yanyu's face. Qiao Yanyu explained, "I actually did get some rest. I even took a nap at the bureau today. Right now, there's really only a little bit left. I want to finish it before I go to sleep."
He Zhao adopted a "don't listen" approach, forcing Qiao Yanyu back to her room, having her change out of her pajamas, and then tucking Qiao Yanyu into bed. This was all done with Qiao Yanyu's tacit consent; otherwise, given that He Zhao couldn't even hold Qiao Yanyu down with a kiss, her attempt to move her was simply wishful thinking.
After putting her in bed, He Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and patted Qiao Yanyu's blanket, telling her to go to sleep quickly.
Before leaving, Qiao Yanyu tugged at her clothes. When He Zhao turned to look at her, she coaxed her and whispered, "I want a goodnight kiss too." This was something He Zhao had always pestered Qiao Yanyu to do, even wanting a kiss when he went out to set up his stall.
This time, it was Qiao Yanyu who spoke, which greatly moved He Zhao. But He Zhao refused, and when Qiao Yanyu was confused, she quickly said, "Wait for me to brush my teeth and wash my face!" After saying that, He Zhao immediately ran away. When she returned to the bathroom in her room and saw her appearance, she instantly let out a sharp, explosive sound.
She simply couldn't believe that she had just gone to Qiao Yanyu looking like this and acting cute!
The pajamas were hanging on my body, completely undressed, a mess, with one hem tucked into my pajama bottoms and the other hanging out – enough to drive anyone with OCD crazy. My hair was a tangled mess, like a frizzy bird's nest after waking up, with many strands flying everywhere and sticking up.
The most amazing thing was that she noticed she still had a little bit of eye boogers on her eyes...
The beautiful girls in novels who wake up are all fake; what beautiful girl has eye boogers? She acted all cute like that for ages, and He Zhao almost didn't want to believe that the person in the mirror was herself. Luckily, she insisted on coming back to brush her teeth and wash her face; otherwise, she was afraid that if she kissed Qiao Yanyu like that, Qiao Yanyu would have nightmares when she fell asleep.
After washing up, He Zhao carefully combed her hair and cleverly tied it into a loose single braid hanging down her chest before happily going to Qiao Yanyu's room.
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