Chapter 137
The air in the ward seemed to freeze suddenly. The enamel pot in Ni Yeping's hand hit the bedside table with a clang, splashing a few drops of herbal tea.
The hand holding his reading glasses trembled slightly, and his eyes behind the lenses were staring straight at Mu Qingxuan, as if he was looking for a familiar shadow through her face.
"You just said, what's your grandfather's name?"
Mu Qingxuan paused when she heard this.
The morning light shone through the blinds onto her, outlining her slender figure.
She repeated it again, word for word: "My grandfather's name is Mu Hongguo."
Mu Qingxuan's voice was very soft, but it was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, causing ripples in the ward.
"It turned out to be him..."
Ni Yeping murmured to himself, leaning against the headboard and slowly closing his eyes.
The ward was so quiet that one could almost hear the sound of a silver needle falling to the ground.
His Adam's apple rolled up and down as if he was trying to swallow something.
After a long time, he opened his eyes, and a layer of watery light appeared in his turbid pupils.
Seeing this, Mu Qingxuan's eyes flashed and she asked, "Old Director, do you know my grandfather?"
Ni Yeping sighed deeply: "More than knowing each other, if it weren't for Comrade Hong Guo, I'm afraid I would have died long ago."
He was a soldier on the front line, and most of his injuries, big and small, were bandaged and treated by Mu Hongguo.
Not to mention...
"Comrade Hong Guo and I once fought side by side. One winter day on the battlefield, the snow was half a man deep. I had a high fever and was unconscious. He carried me on his back and ran for more than ten miles in the hail of bullets..."
The old man's voice became lower and lower, as if he had returned to the war-torn era: "There is a bullet scar on his right shoulder. He blocked it for me."
Mu Qingxuan’s fingers were tightly grasping the hem of her coat, her knuckles turning white.
"I seem to have heard Grandpa Mu's name somewhere before..."
Ni Ruolan frowned, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the jade pendant on her chest.
The collar of her shirt was slightly open, revealing a slender neck: "I always feel very familiar..."
Ni Yeping smiled bitterly and shook his head, the wrinkles on his face full of traces of time.
"Before you were born, your mother had a difficult labor. If Comrade Hong Guo had not been there, I'm afraid there would have been two deaths."
The old man choked up, "Later he retired from the army and returned to his hometown. We kept in touch through letters for a while, and then..."
His voice gradually died in his throat, filled with a helpless sigh.
Ni Ruolan's face turned pale in an instant, and her eyes were bloodshot.
"So that's how it is..." Ni Ruolan's voice was as light as a feather.
"Before my eldest brother passed away, he always said that he must go to Lotus Village to see Grandpa Mu..."
She turned her face away, not wanting anyone to see the tears in her eyes.
Mu Qingxuan slowly walked to her side, hesitated for a moment, and gently held her cold hand.
She understood what Ni Ruolan meant.
It turns out that the old director Ni Yeping had an older son who had passed away.
Mu Qingxuan's eyes darkened and she opened her mouth, preparing to say a few words of comfort.
Ni Ruolan turned her head and forced a smile: "I didn't expect that we have such a connection. It's really fate."
Mu Qingxuan smiled slightly: "It is indeed fate."
The sun outside the window was setting. When Mu Qingxuan stood up to say goodbye, Ni Yeping insisted on seeing her off to the door of the ward.
The old man leaned on his cane and watched her disappear at the end of the corridor. He suddenly murmured, "Old Mu, your granddaughter is just like you when you were young. There is light in her eyes..."
The draft in the corridor blew up his gray hair.
Ni Ruolan walked up to him worriedly and held his shoulders.
But Ni Yeping suddenly said, "Ruolan, if your sister-in-law's child had grown up safely, would he be about the same age as Comrade Xiao Mu now?"
Ni Ruolan pursed her lips, her eyes full of sorrow.
The death of my eldest brother and his wife and their family is a permanent pain for the entire Ni family.
Ni Ruolan sighed deeply, and helped Ni Yeping back to the ward: "Dad, you are not fully recovered yet, go back and rest first."
Suddenly thinking of the past and her eldest son and grandson who died young, Ni Ruolan's originally abundant energy seemed to be drained away.
This time, he did not refute. He returned to the ward safely, lay back on the bed, and rested.
Huo family.
Dusk streamed in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, immersing Huo Changfeng's figure in shadow.
He stood quietly, his brows furrowed.
When Mu Qingxuan pushed open the study door, the creaking sound of the door startled him.
The man turned around hurriedly, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Mu Qingxuan was very complicated, as if he was hiding thousands of words.
"What's wrong?"
Mu Qingxuan sat down next to him and looked at him seriously.
Huo Changfeng rarely shows this kind of expression, something must have happened.
Huo Changfeng's Adam's apple rolled and his eyes wandered across her face.
The sycamore tree outside the window rustled, and a few dead leaves fluttered against the glass.
"Officer Lu sent me news." His voice was so hoarse that it didn't sound like his own. "Mu Qianqian... committed suicide in the detention center."
Mu Qingxuan felt her heart skip a beat and her ears were buzzing.
She suddenly remembered that Mu Qianqian clamored to see her today, but was directly rejected by her.
"How could it be..." She murmured, digging her nails deeply into her palms, feeling a little complicated.
Mu Qingxuan didn't feel sorry for Mu Qianqian.
The current emotion is more shocking.
After all, in her opinion, Mu Qianqian didn't look like someone who would commit suicide so easily.
Keeping clamoring for revenge on her seems like something Mu Qianqian would do.
"She left a suicide note."
"In addition to reporting Shi Feihua's extramarital affair, the suicide note also listed more than a dozen pieces of evidence of bribery."
"She wants to die together with him." Mu Qingxuan frowned, "She knows she can't escape, so she wants to drag Shi Feihua down with her before she dies."
In this case, Shi Feihua will definitely be investigated by the organization for his private life and work style issues.
By then, even if Shi Feihua is innocent, he might lose his job.
What's more, based on Mu Qingxuan's understanding of Shi Feihua in her previous life, the evidence in Mu Qianqian's suicide note was not groundless.
Shi Feihua definitely did these things!
Mu Qingxuan suddenly remembered something and frowned. After pondering for a moment, she asked, "If Shi Feihua accepts the investigation, will it affect you?"
After all, they are cousins.
Huo Changfeng silently held her in his arms, his chin resting on the top of her head.
"Don't worry." The man stroked her trembling back with his palm. "The Huo family has long since severed ties with the Shi family. Officer Lu specifically reminded us that the investigation will not affect us."
"Besides," Huo Changfeng laughed, "we live in a new society now, we don't practice collective punishment anymore."
The sky outside the window darkened completely. Mu Qingxuan nodded gently, feeling relieved: "That's good."
The room was quiet for a while before Mu Qingxuan suddenly remembered and took the initiative to tell Ni Ruolan that she was going out to dinner with her on the weekend.
Huo Changfeng touched her long hair: "Do you need me to accompany you?"
Mu Qingxuan shook her head: "It's okay, I can handle it."
As the night grew darker, after taking a shower, they both lay back in bed and fell asleep.
Mu Qingxuan had a rare nightmare.
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