"Don't spread rumors. If you keep talking nonsense, you'll be held legally responsible!" Qin Xiaoyu regretted saying this. There's no such law yet, is there?
Her words elicited a burst of laughter; it seemed she had indeed misspoke. In these people's eyes, this young woman was insane.
"Look at her, she doesn't know her place anymore. Just because she's pretty, she climbed into the bed of the commander's son. Now look what happened, she's been kicked out! Nobody wants her two little burdens anymore. Bah! She should look in the mirror!" The old lady became even more smug, and her words became even more eloquent.
"You..." If it weren't for having two children, Qin Xiaoyu would have really wanted to rush up and fight her to the death.
"Speechless now, aren't you? I'm telling the truth. Let all the neighbors here say what they think. Isn't it shameful for such a slut to live next to us? Get rid of her!" The old lady raised her hand, displaying the demeanor of a young general.
"Yes, chase them away, they're a jinx."
"Indecent and immoral!"
Someone in the crowd responded.
"Excuse me." The voice was loud and clear, startling the old lady.
Qin Xiaoyu's body trembled. Was it Staff Officer Zheng?
She looked up through her tear-filled eyes and saw Staff Officer Zheng reach out and pick up Hanhan and her younger sister.
"You, how did you get here?" Qin Xiaoyu's tears fell, and she quickly raised her hand to wipe them away.
"Who is this man? The commander's son?"
"No, he doesn't seem like it. He looks a few years older."
"Who's that? Look, there's a car over there."
Those watching the spectacle couldn't see which way the wind was blowing.
"Who was spreading rumors and causing trouble just now? Come with me to the police station. Anyone who damages relations between the military and the people will be severely punished." Staff Officer Zheng turned to look at the crowd and said expressionlessly.
These family members were all somewhat educated and politically aware. Seeing him dressed in an officer's uniform and speaking in a highly political manner, they were all intimidated and consciously backed away.
The old lady was even more clever; she had already pulled her grandson away and slipped away.
"Oh, you just saw it. I was reminded of the novel 'The Scarlet Letter'," Qin Xiaoyu said with a wry smile.
"Luckily I ran into you. When I got back, I heard you were in trouble, but I didn't expect it to be so serious." Staff Officer Zheng's eyes were full of pity, and Qin Xiaoyu didn't dare to meet his gaze.
"Uncle Zheng, I miss you." Hanhan had just been wronged and was quite frightened, so she clung to Staff Officer Zheng's neck and refused to let go.
"Hanhan is a man now, you did a good job." Staff Officer Zheng gave him a big kiss on the cheek, then turned around and kissed his little sister. The expressions of the two children softened.
"You wanted to see me about something?" Qin Xiaoyu knew that Zheng, the staff officer, must have come for something unusual.
"Oh, right, I brought Hanhan a gift."
Staff Officer Zheng put the two children down and walked to the front of the car. The young soldier inside jumped out, opened the trunk, and helped him lift out a huge shell casing.
Qin Xiaoyu never dreamed that bullet casings could be upgraded. Back then, when Staff Officer Zheng collected a few bullet casings for Hanhan, Zhou Xing had his soldiers use them to make tanks and cannons and send them over.
Now that Staff Officer Zheng has brought over the shell casings, will Zhou Xing bring over an atomic bomb casing later?
Those who had been watching the spectacle had only retreated a little and hadn't gone far, but upon seeing this, they all looked at each other in bewilderment.
Children are forgiving, bold, and curious, especially boys, who simply can't resist the allure of guns and cannons. Some of the bolder ones have already come over and tried to approach them.
Hanhan and her younger sister touched the cannonballs, having long forgotten the unpleasantness from earlier, their eyes crinkling with joy.
"Thank you, Uncle Zheng!" Hanhan didn't forget to express her gratitude.
"I got it from my artillery comrades," Staff Officer Zheng said quickly when he saw that Qin Xiaoyu still had questions.
"You've really gone to so much trouble, I feel so bad for putting in so much effort for the child."
"It's nothing, as long as the child is happy." Staff Officer Zheng and the young soldier helped carry the shell casings upstairs.
"Sit down for a while." Qin Xiaoyu wanted to get some information out of him, such as how Zhou Xing was doing. It was a little difficult to say this. Given her current relationship with the Zhou family, it would be too shameless to ask directly, but not asking felt like a thorn in her side.
"I've come here for more than just this one thing, Commander Zhou. I'd like to ask you to come over," Staff Officer Zheng said with some difficulty.
"I'll go with you now." Qin Xiaoyu stood up, but suddenly felt a little scared. Would Commander Zhou tell her something terrible? Zhou Xing…
"What's wrong?" Staff Officer Zheng saw her standing there blankly, looking completely lost, and guessed what was going on. He sighed with difficulty and finally spoke up: "Xiaoyu, let me tell you the truth. Zhou Xing is fine now. He's out of danger and has been transferred from the military hospital to a local sanatorium in Guangzhou. Zhou Yue is with him."
"He's that badly injured?" Qin Xiaoyu's heart clenched.
"He was injured by the blast while covering the wounded, mainly in the head. He's fine now. The priority is to let him recover first, please understand, I can't say more."
"I understand, it's good that he's alright." Qin Xiaoyu didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Only then did she realize that her face felt cool. She wiped it and found it was covered in tears.
"Commander Zhou must have something else to discuss with you. You should go." Staff Officer Zheng's gentle gaze gave Qin Xiaoyu strength, and she decided to go.
Now that things have escalated to this point, her anger has subsided, and her resentment towards Zhou Xing's mother has disappeared. She had no choice in the matter; in her eyes, Qin Xiaoyu's status was terribly low, which is understandable for a parent.
In addition, upon suddenly learning of Zhou Xing's news, her heart was filled with emotion, and it seemed that all her resentment had disappeared.
What could Qin Xiaoyu do about the Zhou family? Of course, she chose to forgive them.
After calming down, she guessed what Commander Zhou was thinking. Putting aside how far she and Zhou Xing could go in the future, just considering this matter alone, a reasonable person like Commander Zhou wouldn't act recklessly like Zhou Xing's mother; he would make a clean break.
The day has finally come.
Needless to say, the two brothers were sent back to Qi Si's place.
"Girl, be tough! What kind of commander is he? We're not afraid of him!" Qi Si was afraid that Qin Xiaoyu would suffer a loss, so he encouraged her first.
"Don't worry, brother, your sister isn't one to suffer losses." Qin Xiaoyu smiled, but she was really unsure of herself.
Staff Officer Zheng had Qin Xiaoyu sit in the back seat of the car, with the curtains drawn. No one could see inside. As the car entered the military compound, it didn't slow down at the guard post. However, it didn't head in the direction of the Zhou family's house; instead, it turned towards another office building.
Qin Xiaoyu entered through a side door and was led by Staff Officer Zheng to the door of the room at the very end of the third-floor corridor, where she was instructed to wait.
Staff Officer Zheng went inside for a few minutes before coming out to lead her inside.
After not seeing him for more than a month, Commander Zhou looked much older. It seems that he was not having an easy time either. His son was injured and there was internal strife at home, which must have been enough to make him exhausted.
"Hello, Commander Zhou." Qin Xiaoyu consciously changed her form of address; she used to call him Uncle, but there was no need for that now.
"Oh, Principal Qin is here."
"Excuse me, Commander Zhou, I'm not Principal Qin anymore. My school no longer exists. Please call me Qin Xiaoyu," Qin Xiaoyu said neither humbly nor arrogantly.
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