Chapter 54 Chapter 54 (12 more) Feeling like a mother...
"Gone?"
Ying Lu and Lu Qinghe exchanged a glance, then looked at the newcomer. "We were just about to go look for Zhuang Xiaohu. What does it mean he's missing? Did he get lost?"
The military family compound is different from the outside world. There are sentries guarding the four walls, and the walls are also blocked by steel wire. It is difficult for adults to climb over, let alone children. As for the sentries at the door, they have been explained in advance. If any children go out by themselves, they will be stopped.
This was also the reason why Lu Qinghe felt at ease when he went to the Third Line Factory last time. Every household here helped each other look after their children, and safety was guaranteed. Unless the children were naughty and hid, no one had ever heard of any child having an accident in the compound.
“It’s just gone.”
Looking closely, it turned out to be Mrs. Han.
Han Xueqin took a breath, her face anxious, and continued, "It's been a while. There was a basketball game after school, and everyone went to watch it. Yu Lili assumed the child had gone too, so she didn't rush to look for him. Now it's almost eight o'clock, and there's still no sign of Zhuang Xiaohu. Yu Lili is getting anxious now. She's been looking everywhere, even at the school, but there's no sign of him!"
As soon as they heard that the child was missing, every household came out. Now everyone on the street, young and old, was helping to look for Zhuang Xiaohu.
"That's strange."
Ying Lu glanced at Lu Qinghe and said nothing.
"Director Ying, please use the loudspeaker to shout!" Yu Lili ran over, panting, her eyes panicked and her face pale.
She demands a lot from her son, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care about him.
If something really happens to Zhuang Xiaohu, she will never be able to recover in her life!
"Don't worry, I'll tell Xiaohua to turn on the loudspeaker. Yu Lili, don't panic either. As long as the child doesn't leave the military compound, it's unlikely he'll be abducted. He might be sleeping in there."
Yu Lili nodded and hurriedly pulled Lu Qinghe over: "Qinghe, did your child see Xiaohu after school? I scolded him for a long time yesterday, but he seemed fine during the day."
"I really saw it." Lu Qinghe glanced over indifferently.
Ying Lu looked around and quickly recounted what Lu Qinghe had just said about the two children.
After hearing this, Yu Lili was stunned.
Mrs. Han also frowned. "That's strange. Why did your Zhuang Xiaohu insist on dragging Lu Yang over? And it's normal for Lu Yang to be in a hurry to come back to play basketball. So where else can your Zhuang Xiaohu go if he doesn't go to watch basketball?"
Ying Lu was also puzzled. "Qinghe, Lu Yang and the others didn't have anything else to say, right? Why did Zhuang Xiaohu go missing?"
"Qinghe, Lu Yang must be the last person to see Zhuang Xiaohu. Hurry up and ask your Lu Yang again. Is he telling the truth or a lie? Xiaohu can't possibly drag him off to look for some medal for no apparent reason."
Lu Yang was a little unhappy, and the children behind Lu Qinghe were also a little unhappy.
The same goes for Lu Qinghe.
"Yu Lili, my Lu Yang can't be lying. Don't just suspect someone without evidence. Instead of suspecting Lu Yang here, I think we should go look for the child again. You just said you looked at the school, but have you also looked for the path along the wall by the middle school teaching building?"
Her tone was not good, and Yu Lili felt a little annoyed.
"Qinghe, now that my children are missing, isn't it normal for me to be suspicious? Besides, the two children just had a fight yesterday, so there must be some conflict between them. I think it's possible that your Lu Yang is deliberately lying!"
"Alright! What are you talking about!" Ying Lu interrupted Yu Lili, "Let's go to the back of the middle school and take a look first."
Lu Qinghe was indifferent and ignored Ying Lu's attempts to smooth things over. She crossed her arms and continued, "Well, if my Lu Yang didn't lie, are you going to apologize to my Lu Yang in front of everyone?" Yu Lili snorted coldly, "Why are you like this, Qinghe? Why don't you help find someone first and still have time to say such things? What an attitude!"
"What am I saying? Your Zhuang Xiaohu scratched my son's hand, and I haven't even settled the score with you yet, and you're already accusing my Lu Yang of being a bad guy. What attitude do you expect from me?"
"you……"
"Okay! Finding someone is important!" Ying Lu interrupted the two again.
Lu Qinghe signaled with his eyes, "I told you, let's go to the back of the middle school and take a look."
"I went to look for him, but there was no one there." Yu Lili sighed.
Lu Qinghe frowned, "Are you sure you looked carefully? Or did you just glance at it?"
“…I only took a quick look.”
Ying Lu pulled Yu Lili and said, "Let's go and look for it again."
"Let's go take a look too." Lu Qinghe said to the children.
The school is not far away and we arrived there quickly.
Zhao Zimo followed behind Lu Qinghe, his face full of admiration, "Auntie, do you have that ability to predict the future? What Aunt Yu said just now was all correct."
"We've been neighbors for so long, we know who she is, so we can definitely guess what she is."
"Then why are you so sure that Zhuang Xiaohu is here? Didn't Aunt Yu say she came to look for him?"
In the pitch-black darkness, Lu Qinghe glanced at the path illuminated by the flashlight. "Have you forgotten that Zhuang Xiaohu insisted on bringing Lu Yang in? If he really just wanted to delay Lu Yang from going to the basketball game, he could have found other ways, unless there was something unusual in that path."
"That's just..." Lu Qinghe smiled, "I'm just guessing based on my complete trust in Lu Yang, but it's impossible for others to do that."
Lu Yang is a good boy, and many people know it.
But if they are not family members, who would trust Lu Yang 100%.
"Auntie, I suddenly realized that your brain seems... better than mine." Zhao Zimo said suddenly.
Lu Qinghe was stunned and almost laughed out loud.
Instead, Lu Yao laughed and followed Lu Qinghe proudly, "My mom is amazing, isn't she? Not only that, but also Brother Zimo, my brain is better than yours. You always lag behind in your studies, um—"
Before Lu Yao could finish her words, Zhao Zimo covered her mouth.
Zhao Zimo chuckled and looked ahead, "Nuo, it seems they found someone."
"Zhuang Xiaohu——"
"Is anyone there?"
"Mother!!"
"Help, mom, help me!!"
Just as Lu Qinghe thought, at the deepest part of the path, there was a sewer that had been abandoned for who knows how long.
The school was originally located in a residential area, and because of its location, the sewer was left behind.
"Xiaohu, it's my Xiaohu!!" Yu Lili ran over excitedly.
"Don't worry, Xiaohu, Mom will rescue you right away!"
There was a ladder next to the sewer. Just as Yu Lili was about to put it down, Ying Lu took two steps and jumped into the sewer.
The depth at the bottom is only slightly higher than the height of a normal person. It is no problem for adults to get in and out, but it will be difficult for children to get out if they fall in.
"This sewer isn't deep, so someone must have taken care of it before. Come here, Xiaohu. I'll carry you up."
"oh."
"Are you hurt?" Yu Lili asked nervously from above.
Zhuang Xiaohu nodded, "My ankle hurts a little."
"That's probably because your foot twisted when you fell." Ying Lu sighed, "Why are you jumping in here?"
Zhuang Xiaohu was taken up. Yu Lili was still in shock and burst into tears while hugging Zhuang Xiaohu.
"You scared your mother to death! Why are you running around when there's nothing wrong? Don't you know you're going home after school?!"
Zhuang Xiaohu was being held, buttoning his hands and clothes. He didn't look scared, but was obviously very nervous. Then, as if he had made up his mind, he broke free from Yu Lili's arms.
"Mom, Lu Yang pushed me down here! He was taking revenge on me for not waiting for him yesterday, so he deliberately called me here and pushed me down here when I wasn't paying attention!"
Ying Lu, who had just climbed out of the sewer, stumbled and almost fell back when she heard this. Sister-in-law Han rushed over and quickly pulled her up.
After standing still, Ying Lu looked puzzled: "Zhuang Xiaohu, did I hear what you just said correctly?"
Yu Lili stood up, wiping her tears. "What's wrong? Everyone's listening. How can a child lie?"
"Didn't you just guess that my Lu Yang was lying?"
Lu Qinghe walked over holding Lu Yang's hand.
Lu Yang looked determined as he stared straight at Zhuang Xiaohu, "You're the one lying. You were the one who called me over here. Who knows why you ended up falling into the sewer again?"
"You're lying!" Zhuang Xiaohu took a step back in panic and sat down on the ground. "You, you just want revenge on me! You want me to freeze in the sewer all night!"
"But I didn't even know there was a sewer here!"
Zhuang Xiaohu was anxious and pointed at Zhao Zimo behind him, "Your brother is in middle school, your brother told you!"
Lu Yang frowned: "Your sister is still in middle school, and I said it was your sister who told you."
"You, you, you... wuwuwuwu ah ah ah I don't care, it was you who pushed me down, you have to apologize to me, you have to say you're sorry, a bad boy like you should be punished wuwuwuwu..."
Zhuang Xiaohu just sat on the ground and refused to get up, kicking the mud with his feet, looking like he was playing tricks.
Lu Qinghe looked over coldly. Apart from the mud on his butt, there was no other dirt on Zhuang Xiaohu's body. Only his hands were a little dirty.
"You said Lu Yang called you here on purpose?" Lu Qinghe asked coldly.
"right!"
"Lu Yang is going to play a game. If you hadn't called him, why would he waste his time coming to find you?"
"He was taking revenge on me! He pushed me down just to get revenge on me!"
Lu Qinghe almost laughed out loud. She glanced at Ying Lu and the others, "Children are always lying without thinking. Look at what happened to Zhuang Xiaohu. If he was pushed, he would have been caught off guard and fallen flat on his face. But he only twisted his ankle. How could he have twisted his ankle? He must have jumped and then framed Lu Yang."
This kind of childish, old-fashioned, vicious green tea female supporting role trick is rarely used even in novels.
She was lucky enough to see this performance on Zhuang Xiaohu.
But if we say it was a poor performance, if she had not handled it properly this time, it might have left Lu Yang with childhood trauma.
"What nonsense is this? I don't understand... Anyway, Lu Yang pushed me. Mom! You must avenge me!"
Zhao Zimo couldn't hold it in any longer and snorted coldly, "No matter what the situation is, it's not up to you alone. It's useless for you to cheat. A real man shouldn't be like you."
Yu Lili stood in front of her son and frowned. "Qinghe, why don't we call it a day today? I'll take Xiaohu home. Now that the child has been found, the truth about what happened will be the children's business. I won't bother with it. Don't cause trouble for everyone. Let's go home."
"You don't care anymore?"
Lu Qinghe snorted, "Yu Lili, I don't know when you became so arrogant. My Lu Yang was wronged for no reason, and you say you don't care?"
"Qinghe..."
Lu Qinghe ignored Yu Lili and turned around and said, "Director Ying, although this is just a matter between children, it can be a big deal or a small one. Fortunately, this is a relatively shallow sewer. What if it was a cellar? No matter whose family tricked whose child into coming here, if it was a cellar, I'm afraid they would fall and bleed, and someone would die! I don't think we can do this without investigating thoroughly."
Ying Lu also nodded: "We need to find out clearly, otherwise the child will feel wronged."
Yu Lili was a little anxious and pinched Zhuang Xiaohu, "Don't cry!"
Then he turned around and said, "I'm not wronged, I'm not wronged. How about this, just consider it my family's fault and let's just forget about it."
"no."
Lu Qinghe frowned, "Weren't you so tough just now? Now you feel guilty?"
Yu Lili: “…”
She knew her own child well, and she could probably guess what was going on with just a glance, but she couldn't help but protect her own child, so she could only try to gloss over the situation.
"There's no room for ambiguity on this matter." Lu Qinghe looked around. "Yu Lili, if your Zhuang Xiaohu still refuses to admit his mistake, then I'll find a witness. Lu Yang told me when he got home. Wang Ningyu's Sun Sanni happened to hear them talking after school. She can prove that it was Zhuang Xiaohu who took the initiative to call Lu Yang here!"
After these words were spoken, everyone was confused.
Considering Zhuang Xiaohu's condition just now and his clean clothes, even a middle school student could tell who was lying.
"Here, here." Wang Ningyu pushed her third daughter out. "I just asked, and she said she heard it. Lu Yang was reluctant at first, but Zhuang Xiaohu cried and begged him to come, so Lu Yang came."
"Tsk, how did Yu Lili raise her child? Why is Zhuang Xiaohu like this?"
"This is bad. I guess since they couldn't harm anyone, they thought of framing them."
"You're so young and you already know how to set up condoms. What will you be like when you grow up?"
Yu Lili gritted her teeth, then said angrily, "Who said this proves it? No one saw anyone push it, so this doesn't count as evidence!!"
"Not yet?" Ying Lu couldn't bear to watch any longer. "Sister-in-law Yu, our child made a mistake, so we just need to educate him properly. There's no need to stick your neck out to cover up for him, right?"
But for Lili, what she was covering up was not Zhuang Xiaohu, but her own face.
Yu Lili: "I'm not hiding anything. I just thought that if we want to get to the bottom of it, then let's not be vague. What kind of evidence is this? I can only say that my little tiger... remembered it wrongly!"
“…”
"Yu Lili has lost her mind?"
"Isn't it obvious that Zhuang Xiaohu is lying?"
"But what he said does make some sense. After all, no one saw it..."
Zhao Zimo was a little anxious and wanted to say something, but when he saw Lu Qinghe's calm look, he thought for a moment and shut his mouth.
Lu Yang was a little annoyed. He walked over Yu Lili and shouted at Zhuang Xiaohu, "I saw you crying, and I came over to comfort you out of kindness. Who knew you would lie like that? I'm telling you, I really don't want to play with you anymore! From now on... I don't even want to talk to you anymore!"
Zhuang Xiaohu was stunned by the shouting. After a pause, he gritted his teeth and said, "Who wants to play with you? You big bad guy!"
"You're a big liar!"
"Big liar!" Lu Yao rushed over to help, "You are a big liar! Big liar!!"
"Bad guy, you even scratched Brother Lu Yang's hand!!"
It was three against one, and Zhuang Xiaohu couldn't shout at the three of them. He was so angry that he jumped up and was about to rush over to hit them, but Yu Lili pulled the child back in time.
Lu Qinghe beckoned the children over and continued, "Okay, you said you want to investigate thoroughly, and I agree."
"What do you want to do?" Yu Lili was a little nervous.
Lu Qinghe set her eyes on the wall, and the first thing she noticed was the manhole cover.
"It's simple. No matter what you do, you'll leave traces. This sewer is next to a school. If people check it frequently, there's no way there wouldn't be a manhole cover. Whoever lifted the manhole cover and threw it next to it would have their fingerprints left on it. Let's call the police now and have them come over. If they check the fingerprints on the manhole cover, wouldn't that make it clear?"
The scene suddenly became quiet.
Even Zhuang Xiaohu was stunned.
fingerprint?
What is a fingerprint?
The lines on your fingers? Isn't that called a dustpan?
Lu Qinghe continued, "Everyone's fingerprints are unique. Once the police compare them, they'll know who opened the manhole cover and can then arrest the bad guy and put him in jail!"
Lu Yao jumped over and said, "Yes, I'll take you in and you won't be able to eat, see your mother, or even see the sun!"
"That's right." Zhao Zirui, the atmosphere group, immediately agreed.
This sentence frightened Yu Lili and her son so much that they were stunned.
"It's not me, I didn't lift it... Ouch——"
Yu Lili slapped Zhuang Xiaohu in the face. "Tell the truth! Tell the truth now! Don't force me to slap you again, Zhuang Xiaohu! You've caused enough trouble for your mother, don't implicate our whole family! Tell the truth now!"
"Mom, didn't you just—"
"It's nothing! Tell the truth!"
Yu Lili really didn't notice the manhole cover, and she didn't expect Lu Qinghe to show no mercy at all.
At this point, I can only accept it.
Zhuang Xiaohu burst into tears again, crying loudly, but under Yu Lili's coercion, he still sobbed and told the truth in a halting manner.
The truth is revealed.
Lu Yang breathed a sigh of relief with satisfaction, while Lu Yao and Zhao Zirui cheered happily beside him.
Zhao Zimo looked at Lu Qinghe a few more times. At this moment, standing behind Lu Qinghe, he inexplicably felt a great sense of security.
This is what Lu Yao told herself just now at home, the feeling of having someone protecting her, the feeling of having... a mother.
Lu Qinghe didn't pay attention to these.
She stared at Zhuang Xiaohu and said, "Come here and apologize to Lu Yang."
"Wuwuwu, yes, I'm sorry, Lu Yang, I lied, wuwu... Mom, please don't hit me, wuwu..."
"And you." Lu Qinghe looked at Yu Lili coldly.
Yu Lili no longer tried to establish a neighborly relationship with Lu Qinghe. She sighed and said, "Lu Yang, I apologize to you. I wrongly accused you of lying for no reason. I will learn my lesson and teach your little brother Xiaohu a lesson."
"Humph, I don't want a brother like that."
Lu Yang jumped aside and said, "Anyway, I don't want to play with you anymore! What I hate most are mean-spirited and lying kids!"
"I don't want it yet... I don't want to play with you yet!! Humph!"
Zhuang Xiaohu wiped his tears, broke free from Yu Lili's arms and ran home.
By now, most of the people who came to watch the fun had dispersed.
Yu Lili: "Qinghe, this..."
"We should go home and rest too. It was really a big show today." Lu Qinghe yawned and told the children to leave.
Ying Lu walked forward and looked at Yu Lili with a serious expression. "Sister-in-law Yu, you should pay more attention to educating your children and stop spending all your time on socializing. Otherwise, I'll hand over the matters concerning the family association to Wang Ningyu. You can take a break for a while."
“…”
What else could Yu Lili say? She had lost so much face that all she could do was sigh and lower her head. All she wanted to do now was go home and beat her child.
That night, Lu Qinghe heard Zhuang Xiaohu crying next door again.
This is not a good way to educate children.
But thinking about his son's injury, Lu Qinghe suddenly felt that educating children also depends on the individual.
Just before going to bed, Lu Yang knocked on Lu Qinghe's bedroom door.
"Come in."
"Mother!"
"Mother……"
In addition to Lu Yang, there was also Lu Yao following behind him.
"What's wrong?" Lu Qinghe put down the newspaper.
"Mother……"
"Mom!" Lu Yao rushed over and threw herself into Lu Qinghe's arms, then turned to look at Lu Yang, "What's there to be embarrassed about? I've made an agreement for you. Mom, can we both sleep together today?"
Lu Yang nodded embarrassedly.
Lu Yao giggled, "Mom, let me tell you a secret. Lu Yang is actually a little scared today, so I'll just sleep with him reluctantly!"
"Humph, it's obvious that you want to sleep with your mother too."
"Mom, what do you think?" Lu Yao ignored Lu Yang and shook Lu Qinghe's arm.
"Okay." Lu Qinghe nodded with a smile: "But only today."
"That's great!" Lu Yao rushed over and kissed Lu Qinghe on the cheek.
These two children have been with their mother since they were young, and only slept separately after coming to the military family compound. Lu Yang was very brave today, but the child was too considerate of others, so even if he was afraid, he was unwilling to show it.
Fortunately, Lu Yao is by his side, and their personalities complement each other.
…
The next day came in a flash.
Meng Bin came to wait for the children to go to school.
"I heard everything about last night, but my dad wouldn't let me go out at the time, so I didn't go. Otherwise, I would have gone to judge for you!"
Lu Yao: "Mom has already vented her anger on Lu Yang. From now on, we will ignore Zhuang Xiaohu. I was thinking of inviting him to play with us at first, but who knew he would be so mean!"
"We don't need to tell him." Meng Bin snorted, "If he goes to school, many classmates will definitely talk about it."
Lu Yang nodded in agreement: "Evil will be punished. Let's just ignore him. He will definitely get his comeuppance in the future. Besides, he was beaten pretty badly yesterday."
"Sounds like my butt is about to explode."
"He should..."
What happened last night really caused a lot of uproar.
Zhuang Xiaohu didn't go out to school, and Yu Lili stayed indoors all day.
At night, Zhao Zhanming unexpectedly arrived home early.
Lu Qinghe recounted what had happened in the past few days and also talked about the injustice Lu Yang had suffered.
"It's not a big deal, but it's annoying."
Zhao Zhanming's face turned ugly after hearing this. He didn't say anything else at that time. But the next day, Yu Lili, together with Captain Zhuang, and their son Zhuang Xiaohu knocked on the door of their house.
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