When Fu Man'er returned to the Xu residence, it was already past midnight. She was nestled in Xu Yi's arms, fast asleep.
“Man’er.” From the moment he found Fu Man’er, Xu Genshan had already sent someone home to report the news.
The original intention was to give those waiting at home a sigh of relief and put their minds at ease, but when they returned, they found everyone waiting at the door.
When Liu Fang saw the person Xu Yi was holding, her voice went hoarse and she couldn't make a sound. She was about to rush over when Xu Genshan quickly pulled her back and whispered something to her.
"Man'er is asleep."
The little girl had been restless for most of the night, but once she was in Xu Yi's arms, she fell into a deep sleep after saying only a few words.
"Asleep?" The Xu family all gathered around, and only when they saw Fu Man'er's peaceful sleeping face did their hearts truly settle down.
Grandma Xu couldn't help but shed tears. "Quick, take Man'er back inside, don't let her catch a cold."
"My poor Man'er, you've suffered so much."
The crowd dispersed, allowing Xu Yi to carry the person back into the house.
"Mother, why did you get up? Didn't the doctor say you should rest in bed?" Xu Genshu went forward to help the old lady into the house.
The old woman was getting on in years and her ability to cope was failing. When she heard that her granddaughter had been kidnapped and a ransom was being demanded, she fainted on the spot.
The Xu family was in a flurry of activity again, but fortunately the doctor said it was due to excessive fright and that a few doses of medicine to calm them down would be enough.
"How can I be at ease if I don't see Man'er come back? Don't worry, Mother is fine."
"Now that Man'er is back, I feel at ease."
That's what he said, but Xu Genshu still noticed that Grandma Xu's face had become much paler, and it seemed that the once energetic old woman had suddenly collapsed.
"By the way, what about those bad guys? Have they been caught?" Grandma Xu asked. Mentioning those people made her grit her teeth, wishing she could bleed them dry and skin them alive.
"Soon," Xu Genshu said softly. Those people can't escape; not a single one will.
Fu Man'er had a dream in which she turned back into the little koi carp in Tianchi Lake. She swam around in the lake, trying to find something to eat to fill her stomach.
But her little body was almost gone, and she couldn't find any food. Just when she was about to give up, a handful of fish food fell into the pond.
Fu Man'er was overjoyed. She swam towards the fish food, wagging her tail, and opened her mouth wide, wanting to eat her way to a big fat person.
But the fish food that had just entered her mouth suddenly seemed to come alive, hooking her mouth and trying to run around everywhere.
Ugh, Fu Man'er absolutely couldn't spit out what was in her mouth, even if it was fish bait. Fu Man'er was determined to hold onto the fish food until it finally stopped moving. Fu Man'er was satisfied. She moved her mouth, trying to swallow the fish food, but then something else happened. Why couldn't she swallow it?
With some interference, Fu Man'er finally woke up slowly, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Xu Yi.
Just as he was about to speak, he realized he had something in his mouth.
"Man'er, you're awake?" Xu Yi looked at Fu Man'er with shining eyes, his excitement beyond words. "Man'er?"
Xu Yi called out a few times and found the little girl staring blankly at him.
"Huh?" Fu Man'er's unfocused eyes finally came back to their senses. If she remembered correctly, the thing she had in her mouth was Xu Yi's finger.
So the bait I ate in my dream was Xu Yi's finger; no wonder I couldn't swallow it.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Xu Yi carefully observed Fu Man'er's expression.
In fact, as soon as they arrived home, Xu Yi had the doctor take Fu Man'er's pulse, because he was worried that the drug might cause some harm to Fu Man'er's body.
Fu Man'er nodded, and Xu Yi's pupils dilated in surprise. The doctor had clearly said there was nothing wrong. "Where do you feel unwell?"
Xu Yi's voice trembled slightly.
The next moment, the little girl said softly, "Brother, I'm so hungry, so hungry, I could eat a whole cow."
\..\"
Xu Yi believed that the little girl was really hungry. After all, he had only placed his hand on the corner of her mouth for a moment, and Fu Man'er's mouth seemed to have eyes.
She took his finger into her mouth as soon as she opened it. Xu Yi tried to pull his finger out, but the more he tried, the tighter the girl's teeth clenched.
Her brows were still tightly furrowed, and her whole face was stubbornly defiant. Helpless, Xu Yi had no choice but to let her bite him.
"Brother, why have you suddenly become so ugly?" Fu Man'er leaned against the pillow and looked at Xu Yi.
Because of his anxiety, Xu Yi had developed a lot of bluish stubble on his chin, and there was also light bluish-black under his eyes, making him look much older.
"And here too." Fu Man'er pulled Xu Yi's large hand over and gently stroked his thumb, which had a ring of red teeth marks on it.
"Brother, I'm sorry. She knows she bit herself."
The teeth marks were deep and red, showing how much force she had used. Her brother preferred to endure the pain himself rather than wake her.
Thinking this, Fu Man'er suddenly felt a lump in her throat.
Scalding tears fell onto Xu Yi's hand, burning him so much that he was momentarily at a loss. His right hand was still being held by Fu Man'er, so he dared not move it.
He had no choice but to reach out his left hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of Fu Man'er's eyes. "Silly girl, what else do you want to say to your brother? I'm sorry." Fu Man'er sniffed, her eyes red, and she gently bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with tears. Suddenly, she just wanted to cry.
"Brother." Fu Man'er cried and rushed into Xu Yi's arms. Xu Yi gently hugged the little girl in his arms, his heart melting.
"It's alright, your brother's here, your brother's here," Xu Yi whispered in Fu Man'er's ear, gently patting her back with his large hand.
From childhood to adulthood, he always coaxed Fu Man'er in this way, just like an adult coaxing a baby.
Upon hearing the news that Fu Man'er had woken up, the entire Xu family rushed into the little girl's room, along with food brought from the kitchen.
"Man'er, Grandma's sweet girl." Hearing the voice outside, Fu Man'er hurriedly lifted her head from Xu Yi's arms.
She knew without a doubt that everyone had been up all night because of her, so she shouldn't cry now and shouldn't make everyone worry about her anymore.
"Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, Second Uncle, Second Aunt~~" Fu Man'er called out to each person who came in.
Her house was quite big, but all her family members came in, almost filling the large room to capacity.
The adults might be able to restrain their emotions a little, but the youngest, Xu Zheng, couldn't help but pounce on Fu Man'er when he saw her.
"Sister." All the brothers in the family are busy with their own things. Although they are all very good to him, Fu Man'er is the one he spends the most time with day and night.
If Huang Si'an hadn't kept Xu Zheng in check yesterday, he would have gone out with Xu Wen and the others to look for his sister in the middle of the night.
“Zheng’er.” Fu Man’er opened her arms and hugged her younger brother, whom she had watched grow up.
Xu Zheng has always considered himself a man since he can remember and rarely sheds tears, but he doesn't know how many times he cried yesterday when Fu Man'er disappeared.
"Sister, I... I will definitely learn martial arts well in the future. From now on, I will protect you and won't let bad people take you away."
"I'm going! I'm going to beat all the bad guys up, arrest them all, and avenge my sister!"
Xu Zheng spoke incoherently while crying.
Seeing the siblings hugging each other, many people with shallow eyes were moved to tears.
Fu Man'er, fighting back tears, comforted her, "Okay, sister will wait for you to protect her."
Huang Si'an let out a soft breath, expelling the sour feeling in her throat. "Zheng'er, get up quickly and let your sister eat something."
The kitchen delivered a lot of food. Fu Man'er saw that everyone was rushing to her room and probably hadn't even had breakfast yet, so breakfast was moved to the flower hall. It was supposed to be a meal that everyone ate together last night, but they didn't get to eat it until this morning.
"By the way, how is Shuangxi?" Fu Man'er asked after sitting down.
Once she saw Xu Yi, she completely relaxed and didn't even know when she fell asleep or when they got home.
"The child is fine; he's still sleeping in his room."
"Man'er, come here, this is porridge made with chicken soup, try it." Grandma Xu personally served her granddaughter porridge, looking at her with a loving expression.
She couldn't sleep well last night, constantly worrying about her granddaughter. Now that the granddaughter is sitting right next to her, she finally feels real.
"Grandma will ask around later to see which temples are efficacious. Grandma is going to pray for Man'er's safety."
Including the time when she was a child, this is the second time that Fu Man'er has been kidnapped by bad guys.
Grandma Xu is too old to stay by Man'er's side all the time, so she can only use whatever methods she can think of to seek blessings for Man'er.
“Mom, I’ll go with you then,” Liu Fang replied.
Fu Man'er swallowed the porridge in her mouth and hurriedly said, "I'll go too, I'll go too."
“Alright, once we find a good place, we’ll all go together,” Old Xu said.
"Our family hasn't gone out together in a long time, so this is a good opportunity for us all to go out and relax."
The conversation at the dinner table immediately revolved around where to go for a relaxing getaway.
Fu Man'er's ears perked up here and there, unable to hear everything.
The Xu family was enjoying a harmonious and happy time, while the Chu family was indeed shrouded in gloom.
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