Commander Wang brought the two children back, but didn't leave immediately. He helped Master Wang put the children to bed, and the two of them waited together at the door, chatting while enjoying the cool air, both with their own worries on their minds.
When they saw Qin Xiaoyu's car drive in, they rushed over. Before they could even open the car door, they heard Qin Xiaoyu crying so hard that they panicked even more.
"How is it? How is it?" Commander Wang was strong and half-dragged, half-carried Qin Xiaoyu off the car.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Master Wang also helped to support her, and the two of them helped Qin Xiaoyu walk into the school building.
Qin Xiaoyu calmed down, broke free from their arms, wiped away her tears, gritted her teeth and said, "It's okay, I won't go to the Zhou family again."
"Sigh." Both Master Wang and Commander Wang sighed heavily.
"What did she say?" Commander Wang had been friends with Zhou Xing's mother for so many years and knew her temperament well. He knew that Qin Xiaoyu must have suffered a lot just now.
"What can I say? Hate me, curse me, don't want to see me again." Qin Xiaoyu gave a bitter smile, and felt a pang of inexplicable heartache when she thought of Zhou Xing caught in the middle.
"I think it's more than that. Her temper is something else entirely." Commander Wang looked at Qin Xiaoyu under the lamplight and saw several red marks on her face. He touched them with heartache.
"It's alright, she's an elder after all, I won't hold it against her." Qin Xiaoyu lowered her head.
"You don't understand her personality. This isn't about whether you hold a grudge or not; you've touched something she hates most. She'd rather break than bend. Be careful. Sigh, go to sleep early; you've had a tiring day and haven't even had a chance to rest." Commander Wang, exhausted after a long day, said goodbye and went home.
"Master, go to sleep. It's alright, I'm here." Qin Xiaoyu patted Master Wang's hand to comfort him.
"She's blind. Where can you find a wife as good as her?"
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Qin Xiaoyu went to the bathroom to wash her face before heading to her dorm.
In the darkness, Hanhan sat motionless.
"Hanhan, do you miss Grandpa?" After asking this question, Qin Xiaoyu felt as if her heart had been stabbed by a sharp knife. Hanhan would never see Grandpa Zhou again. How could she explain this to the child?
It's a cruel reality. It's her fault for being careless and ignoring Bai Weiwei's threats; it's also because she was too selfish.
"Mom, is something wrong?" Hanhan was more perceptive than she thought and suddenly asked.
"Son, I'm sorry," Qin Xiaoyu said with difficulty. She didn't know how to convey the message in a way that would cause her child the least harm.
"Mom, you can say it. No matter what you do, Hanhan will love you." Hanhan hugged Qin Xiaoyu's neck, kissed her on the cheek, and snuggled into her arms.
"Son, I'm sorry." Qin Xiaoyu burst into tears, sobbing as she said, "You can't go to the Zhou family anymore."
"Why?" Hanhan asked immediately.
"I don't know how to put it, but it's like this, Mom and Uncle Zhou, well, Uncle Zhou wants to form a family with the three of us, but Grandma Zhou doesn't like Mom, so she doesn't want to see us right now." Qin Xiaoyu managed to simplify the situation to a level that the child could understand.
"Then we won't go." Hanhan paused for a moment, then quickly gave her reply.
"Good son, thank you. Could you explain things to my little sister?"
Qin Xiaoyu was most worried about her younger sister. After all, she had communication difficulties and had such a good relationship with Zhou Xing's mother. If she were to be separated from her all of a sudden, she would probably be deeply hurt.
"Okay, Mom, let's work together." Hanhan stretched out her arms and hugged Qin Xiaoyu tightly.
Qin Xiaoyu held Hanhan's small body in her arms, tears streaming down her face.
This night was agonizing for Qin Xiaoyu. She struggled between love and hate for the Zhou family. Her pride told her to sever all ties with them from now on. But reason compelled her to forgive.
In this war, Zhou Xing, Han Han, and Xiao Mei, who were caught in the middle, were all her precious children. Seeing them get hurt hurt her even more.
Commander Wang was right; everything was just beginning.
Qin Xiaoyu got up early, washed her face, and applied a cold compress. She wanted to look radiant and couldn't let anyone see that she was looking dejected.
No secrets stay hidden forever, especially with someone as treacherous as Bai Weiwei. News of her break with the Zhou family will soon spread throughout the city, dealing a devastating blow to her social circle, and some people will choose sides.
At five in the morning, the school was still quiet. The students were used to going to bed late and getting up late. Qin Xiaoyu deliberately changed the opening time to nine in the morning so that the children could get a good night's sleep.
She stood under the big tree in the yard. A faint smell of smoke already wafted in the air—the pleasant smell of burning firewood. In a few years, these smells would be replaced by smog, just like these simple, honest people, who would gradually become materialistic and slick. People would run faster, and lose more and more things.
Qin Xiaoyu looked at the car Zhou Xing had brought and was hesitating about how to return it when she suddenly saw a young soldier run in through the door. He was Zhou's family's guard.
"Sister Qin," the guard, Xiao Chen, called out timidly.
"Xiao Chen, is something the matter?"
"The auntie told me to drive the car away," Xiao Chen said with difficulty.
"I was just about to take it back. Perfect timing, you can drive away now." Qin Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Also, Sister Qin, be careful. Auntie didn't sleep all night yesterday and smashed everything in the house. I've never seen her so angry before. I'm scared..." Xiao Chen kindly reminded her.
"Okay, don't worry, I'm fine." Qin Xiaoyu forced a smile.
Now she truly hopes that Zhou Xing will return to her side soon, even if it's just to support her for half the time.
The trainees seemed to have noticed the problem with the school, and they all got up very early, unlike their usual noisy and playful days, and quietly began their workday.
Under Master Wang's insistence, Qin Xiaoyu drank a bowl of porridge. Hanhan and her younger sister also got up early. After eating, the younger sister kept tugging at Qin Xiaoyu's clothes and pointing in the direction of the military compound.
"Hanhan." Although Qin Xiaoyu knew Hanhan was in a difficult position, she still reminded him to say what he had been told to say last night.
Hanhan pulled her younger sister up and went to the courtyard outside.
Qin Xiaoyu felt she was being too selfish, making such a young child deal with things that shouldn't be her responsibility at her age. But what could she do? She didn't know how to communicate with her younger sister in a way that would minimize the harm she might suffer.
She stood by the window, looking out, and Hanhan said something. A little while later, the younger sister started wiping away tears. Hanhan tried to comfort her for a long time, but helplessly looked up at her window.
The customers arrived early today, and there were quite a few. Director Feng and Bai Weiwei were among the first group.
"Sister Xiaoyu, did you not sleep well last night?" Bai Weiwei was eager to reap the rewards, beaming with joy.
"You didn't sleep well either, did you?" Qin Xiaoyu had nothing to hide now and retorted directly.
"Of course I couldn't sleep well. I was really looking forward to seeing my sister-in-law today. Oh, I called her by the wrong name, it's Sister Xiaoyu," Bai Weiwei said with a grin.
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