By the time Gu Zhiyuan returned with a bag of baked buns, Xu Lei and his sister had already been escorted back to the military compound by the sentries.
The others had already dispersed, but what they saw and heard today was circulating within the military region.
As soon as Gu Zhiyuan entered the guesthouse, he was called aside by someone from the military region who recounted everything that had happened that day. Then, they earnestly asked Gu Zhiyuan if he could persuade Xu Ningyan to keep a low profile.
Today, it's the siblings Xu Lei and Xu Jing who came. It's fine if they don't have much fighting ability, but if they really run into a tough opponent and something happens, no one can bear the responsibility, right?
Gu Zhiyuan agreed with a wry smile.
Back in the room, Xu Ningyan was eagerly waiting for him to return.
She immediately spotted the brown paper bag in his hand, leaned over to smell it, opened it, and her eyes lit up.
You see, in this military guesthouse, she basically dared not take out the things in her spatial storage, for fear that someone might accidentally discover them.
I haven't had enough oil and fat these past few days, and the aroma of those baked buns is making my mouth water.
Luckily, I remembered to wash my hands first before taking out a bun. The bun was still hot. I handed one to Gu Zhiyuan first before taking the second one for myself. I took a bite and was so hot that I jumped up and down, but I couldn't bear to spit it out.
It was Gu Zhiyuan again who handed her the water bottle cleanly. She gulped down a few mouthfuls of cold water before she recovered.
Then they discovered that the kettle belonged to Gu Zhiyuan.
Moreover, she was in a hurry just now and drank water directly from the spout of the kettle. Does that count as an indirect kiss?
The hand that suddenly gripped the kettle was caught in a dilemma: was it returning the kettle, or was it simply holding it in its hand?
He forgot to put the bun in his other hand into his mouth.
The atmosphere between the two became somewhat awkward, yet also subtly ambiguous.
Gu Zhiyuan, after a moment of surprise, quickly recovered and, as if nothing had happened, took the kettle and screwed the lid on. "This is the most famous Ma Family Steamed Buns in Ganzhou. Try it! If you like it, I'll buy you more tomorrow!"
She appeared calm, but when she turned around to put the kettle down, her leg bumped into the chair.
Seemingly wanting to calm down, he unscrewed the kettle, gulped down two mouthfuls of water, and then remembered that Xu Ningyan had just drunk from this kettle.
Suddenly, from her ears to her neck to her cheeks, her face turned completely red, like a crab that had been boiled.
Xu Ningyan, who had been feeling comfortable, couldn't hold back anymore when she saw Gu Zhiyuan, who had suddenly become so familiar with her. She choked on her own saliva and coughed violently.
Gu Zhiyuan, disregarding his embarrassment, quickly reached out to pat Xu Ningyan's back.
Once Xu Ningyan had recovered, neither of them dared to look directly at the other.
Xu Ningyan kept her eyes fixed on the bag of baked buns in her hand, counting the pleats on them over and over again.
Gu Zhiyuan cleared his throat: "Xu Changfeng's two children came to see you today?"
Xu Ningyan nodded: "Anyway, Xu Changfeng either admits to abandoning his comrade's orphan and misappropriating his comrade's pension and orphan's allowance, or he admits to embezzlement and bribery. In short, he can't escape! This time he still wants to transfer to a local leadership position? The best outcome is probably just direct discharge! If the leaders here take my donation of six thousand yuan as an example and make him a model to be brought to a military court, that would be even better!"
Gu Zhiyuan looked at Xu Ningyan, who was openly telling him his little thoughts and schemes, and silently wiped his face. He decided to go out tomorrow to find his childhood friend and see if he could put in some effort behind the scenes to help Xu Ningyan get what he wanted.
Xu Changfeng, locked in solitary confinement: My life isn't my life, is it?
The Xu family.
After being lectured, Xu Lei and Xu Jing, the siblings, returned home, and it was already dark.
Pushing open the gate to my own yard, it was pitch black.
Wu Hongqin didn't cook or turn on the lights; she just sat in the yard, lost in thought.
Hearing the noise, he looked up and saw the two people enter. By the moonlight, he could barely make out that they were his son and daughter. He immediately stood up excitedly, "You went to find that brat, what happened? Did she agree?"
Xu Lei and Xu Jing shook their heads in dejection: "She refuses to withdraw her report, and she won't acknowledge us—"
Wu Hongqin's heart sank to the ground.
"Has she agreed to pay me back?" Wu Hongqin asked, clinging to her last shred of hope.
Xu Lei shook his head.
Wu Hongqin collapsed to the ground with a thud: "What am I going to do? What am I going to do—"
Xu Lei was in a state of turmoil and didn't speak kindly: "Mom, the most important thing now is to clear Dad's name! As long as Dad is alright, what does money matter?"
Wu Hongqin lowered her head and remained silent.
Xu Lei was exasperated: "Why did you embezzle her pension and allowances? If you had treated her better back then and shared some of the money with her, things wouldn't have come to this! Does our family really need that kind of money?"
"You were greedy for small gains, and now you've suffered a huge loss, haven't you? If my dad can't clear his name, forget about transferring to civilian work; he'll be lucky to even be discharged smoothly! He might even face a military court! What will happen to our family then? Didn't you think about the consequences at all back then?"
Wu Hongqin panicked: "What did you say? Your father can't be transferred to civilian work? He has to go to a military court?"
Xu Lei said irritably, "Of course! With this big fuss and such a bad influence, Dad might be used as an example to deal with! He wants to transfer to civilian work? You know, we can live quite well on Dad's salary! With Dad's current rank, even if he transfers to a local government position, he'll still be a county-level cadre, with the same salary and rank, and he can still live a good life!"
"Now look at us! We've lost everything! If Dad can't get out, our whole family won't be able to stay in the military region anymore. Even if we go back to civilian life, with Dad's stain on our records, forget about joining the army, we'll probably have a hard time just living a normal life!"
The more Xu Lei talked, the more resentful and helpless he became.
He was only fifteen years old and originally only thought that after graduating from high school, he would join the army. With his father's connections, he would have a better life in the army.
He might even surpass his father in the future.
Now, let alone surpassing others, he doesn't even know where his family's livelihood lies.
Looking at his own mother again, he felt a surge of anger and resentment.
Xu Jing was terrified and timidly tugged at Xu Lei's clothes: "Brother, what, what do we do?"
When Xu Ningyan pressed her face to the ground and rubbed it, she got some scratches. She was supposed to go to the medical team to get them cleaned up, but she and her brother were called in by the military region and given a lecture. By the time they came out, it was already dark. Besides, she had seen too many strange looks that day, so she didn't want to go to the medical team anymore.
At that moment, she was hungry and in pain, and thinking about her family's current situation, she couldn't help but cry.
Xu Lei took a deep breath, barely suppressing his anger: "Xiao Jing, make yourself something to eat at home, then go to bed early. I'm going out for a bit—"
With that, he turned around and strode out of the Xu family's house.
Xu Jing chased after him for a few steps but couldn't catch up. By the moonlight, she could only watch Xu Lei's receding figure, feeling extremely desolate.
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