Life goes on as usual, no matter what. It's just that the happiness only stayed on his face.
As Ling Ruoke stepped out of her door after work, she ran into Tang Yue. Ruoke was still somewhat resentful about how he had lied about having a high fever, which had led to her being captured by Cang Weiwo.
"Ruoke." Tang Yue blocked her path, his face showing a look of helplessness. "Ruoke, I didn't want to do it that day either. They held a gun to my head, and if I didn't do as they said, they would have shot me dead. I..."
Ling Ruoke took a deep breath. She knew that Cang Weiwo must have used underhanded methods. Although she was bothered by it, it wasn't his fault. "I won't hold grudges about unpleasant things. I have important matters to attend to and can't talk to you for long. Goodbye."
Nodding, Ling Ruoke turned and left.
Tang Yue reached out and grabbed her arm. "Ruo Ke, are you still blaming me?"
Ling Ruoke quickly pulled her hand back. "I didn't. But I don't want to have anything to do with you, because I don't know if you've been forced to do these things again. So, I'm sorry."
He ran quickly over and got into Scarface's car.
Ling Ruoke knew in her heart that Tang Yue was just an ordinary person, and in front of Cang Weiwo, he could only let him do whatever he wanted to her. She didn't blame him, but she couldn't go back to the carefree state they used to be in.
It feels like a friend was forced to hurt you once, and you can never be sure if they will hurt you a second time. Even if they really won't, it's hard to completely get rid of that doubt in your heart.
"Sister-in-law, don't waste your breath on him next time. I'll just have someone beat him until he's gone!" Scarface yelled back at her.
Ling Ruoke smiled. He really was a gangster, believing in solving problems with force. "It's alright, he had no choice."
Scarface spat dismissively. "What's with all this talk of 'having no choice'? It's all just excuses. If he really didn't want to do it, even with a knife to his throat and a gun to his head, he'd still say one thing: 'Kill me if you want, and hurry up so I can be reincarnated!'"
Ling Ruoke's heart skipped a beat. Scarface was right, but there were very few people in the world willing to risk their lives for others. It was people like them in the underworld, ruthless in their evil deeds, who were willing to risk their lives for someone in a crucial moment. Ultimately, it all came down to whether that person was worth risking your life for. At least in Tang Yue's heart, she was just someone he admired, not someone more important than his own life.
She couldn't help but recall that day when Qingfeng was held at gunpoint by his father... There was someone in this world who valued her more than his own life; what had she done to deserve that!
Leaning her head against the car window, watching the crowds and traffic outside, she missed the man who, despite his cold demeanor, always acted out of character in front of her. It had only been a few days since they parted, but it felt like an eternity; the longing was so intense, so unforgettable.
Qingfeng, Qingfeng, Qingfeng...
Looking up at the sky, Ling Ruoke kept silently repeating his name in her heart. Slowly, his sharply defined, dark face materialized in the blue sky, his deep, dark eyes filled with doting affection for her…
Qingfeng, I believe we will definitely be together. If I can't stay by your side, then I will spend the rest of my life with my shadow.
"Sister-in-law, do you know what a wolf is?" Scarface turned around and asked again.
Ling Ruoke shook her head. "Is it a very powerful wolf?"
"Of course not. Wild Wolf used to be a branch leader of the Sky Wolf Gang. One day, he was captured by their rivals, and his bones were almost crushed, but he didn't utter a single word. Later, the Sky Wolf Gang leader rescued him, healed him, and kept him by his side, giving him important responsibilities. In the end, the position of gang leader wasn't passed on to his son, but to Wild Wolf. So, there aren't that many unavoidable circumstances in this world." Scarface's tone revealed his respect and admiration for Wild Wolf.
Ling Ruoke admired such a person. Torture is excruciating; many can endure short-term pain, but few can withstand prolonged torment. That Wild Wolf was indeed someone worthy of admiration. "Is the Sky Wolf Gang also in Z City?"
There's already a Qilin Gang, is another Tianlang Gang coming along? Is this tiny Z City really that bustling? And this should be a military region, so how come the underworld is so arrogant? She was already wondering how Qingfeng could have a connection with Xuanyuan Qi!
"How could that be? The Sky Wolf Gang is based in T City. Have you heard of T City being a living hell?" Scarface had long admired Wild Wolf, and he became unusually excited when talking about him.
"Such a terrifying name, is it a place where torture is carried out?" Just hearing the name sent chills down her spine, reminding her of the places where the ten most cruel tortures in ancient times were performed. She was most afraid of torture, which was why she never watched palace dramas.
Scarface chuckled. "Sister-in-law, you're hilarious! That's an entertainment paradise, like heaven on earth. But the Wild Wolves prefer to call it hell. A bunch of them go to hell every day, that's really something! Anyway, I heard that if you just shout at hell on earth, you're sure to find the Wild Wolves. It all depends on whether you can catch their eye."
Ling Ruoke smiled, thinking that this Wild Wolf must be a man of strong emotions. However, such a person had nothing to do with her world; that world was too complicated for her to get involved in. She had also seen gangster movies on TV before, those scenes of people killing with knives—the thought of them sent chills down her spine.
"The Sirius Gang is very big? Is it even more powerful than my Wind and Cloud Gang?"
Scarface scoffed. "Sister-in-law, no matter how powerful the Wind and Cloud Gang is, its influence is mainly within the country. But the Sky Wolf Gang's roots are firmly established all over the world; they have influence wherever you can name them. They practically control the arms and drug markets. So, who do you think is more powerful?"
Ling Ruoke was speechless.
"Sister-in-law? Sister-in-law, we've arrived!"
"Huh? Oh." Ling Ruoke seemed to wake from a dream and hurriedly opened the door to get out of the car.
...
It was dinnertime when Xuan Yuanqi appeared outside the Huo family's gate. After some trouble, he finally managed to get inside.
"Uncle, Aunt," Xuan Yuanqi greeted them with a refined smile.
"What are you doing here?" the general sneered, his temper still bad. This kid is cut from the same cloth as Qingfeng; the two of them must have conspired together to pull some wicked trick again.
Xuanyuan Qi didn't seem to mind and still smiled. "I came to see this broken sword. Auntie, I came from Z City and haven't had dinner yet. Would you mind giving me a set of chopsticks and a bowl? You didn't cook this meal, did you? I heard from Broken Sword that your cooking is the best. Am I really that lucky today?"
Even knowing he did it on purpose, Yang Ziyun was still amused by him. She quickly told the nanny, Ahui, to get him a bowl and chopsticks and even served him some food.
Huo Qingfeng looked at him indifferently, focusing only on eating and remaining silent.
At the dinner table, Huo Qingfeng remained silent, his face cold. Meanwhile, Xuan Yuanqi's silver tongue had Yang Ziyun completely captivated. To an outsider, they would have looked like mother and son!
After dinner, Huo Qingfeng was "escorted" back to his room.
Xuanyuan Qi managed to stay by virtue of his eloquence, and was assigned to the furthest room. Mainly because it was heavily guarded by a general, there was no concern about him making any moves. The general, arrogant throughout his life, naturally didn't take these juniors seriously.
Around 1 a.m.
Huo Qingfeng tore the bed sheet into pieces, tied them into a rope, and tied one end to the foot of the bed. Holding the remaining rope, he went to the window. He was grateful for the modern bay window design; otherwise, sawing off the window bars would have been a hassle.
Standing quietly by the window, I took a deep breath, pushed the window open, and flew out into the air, grabbing the rope and landing steadily.
The people who stayed behind immediately gathered around.
Huo Qingfeng tackled two men, seized their guns, and unleashed a fierce battle in the dim night. He was a sharpshooter with extensive combat experience. Although the men sent by the general were also skilled, they were far inferior to him. Moreover, they dared not fire indiscriminately, after all, he was the general's son.
Huo Qingfeng didn't want to kill anyone, so he mostly used hand-to-hand combat to knock people down. Only when he had no other choice would he injure their legs or arms, but never to vital organs so as not to affect their future actions.
None of these guns were silenced, so they woke everyone in the house up immediately.
The general and Yang Ziyun rushed over upon hearing the commotion, the general still carrying his sidearm. When he saw his soldiers lying haphazardly on the ground, and that the brat clutching the gun was his own son, he was instantly enraged. He roared, "You little bastard, if you don't stop, believe me, I'll shoot you dead!"
Huo Qingfeng didn't stop, because he needed to prolong the time to ensure that Xuan Yuanqi had succeeded. He fired two more shots, and two more people fell.
"Stop! Stop right now!" The general, unable to bear it any longer, pulled the trigger and fired two shots.
Huo Qingfeng's body trembled, then he slowly collapsed. Blood gushed from his chest.
"Qingfeng!" Yang Ziyun was terrified when she saw the gushing red liquid.
The general was completely taken aback; his anger clouded his judgment, and for a moment he forgot that this man was his son. His marksmanship was also quite good…
"Ambulance! Call an ambulance quickly! Qingfeng, my son, my son..."
In the stillness of the night, Ziyun Capital was in an uproar. The sirens of ambulances and the cries of women echoed through the night air.
Xuan Yuanqi watched the departing ambulance, clutching his chest. Hidden within it was the attack plan for taking down the Fengyun Gang headquarters. "Broken Blade," he thought, "if that girl is worth your life, then I won't let you down."
You have to hold on!
...
"Qingfeng!" Ling Ruoke cried out, sitting up in bed. She pressed her hand tightly against her left chest, where she had just felt a sharp pain.
"Ruo Ke, what's wrong?" Tan Peishi sat up groggily and asked in a daze.
Ling Ruoke was speechless. Her heart was pounding, and she was breathing heavily. Why was this happening? Had something happened to Qingfeng? No, they were his parents; they wouldn't harm him! Maybe it's just my imagination, I must be overthinking things!
"Is it alright?" Tan Peishi reached out and shook her body. "What's wrong with you?"
Ling Ruoke took a deep breath and shook her head. "It's nothing, just a nightmare. Go to sleep."
"Oh." Tan Peishi pulled her and lay down again.
Ling Ruoke kept her eyes open in the darkness until dawn, without closing them again. She bit her lower lip, tears streaming silently down her face.
Qingfeng, when will you come back to me? I miss you, I miss you so much!
It was the weekend, and none of the three wanted to go out and freeze. After breakfast, Ling Ruoke brought out a quilt, and the three of them lined up on the sofa and watched a horror movie together.
The mother and son were occasionally startled and would let out a scream. Tan Peishi ate sunflower seeds while commenting that this part was fake and that part was even more fake. It was hard to tell if she was watching a movie or nitpicking.
The mother and son couldn't stand her, so they attacked her from both sides to get rid of her—by tickling her!
Tan Peishi was being tormented, dodging left and right, begging for mercy. The sofa was a mess, and the blankets were even used as mops to cover the floor.
Just as they were having a good time, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
"Oh dear, I'll go open the door!" Tan Peishi hurriedly jumped away, laughing so hard her stomach hurt. She clutched her stomach and cried out in pain as she went to open the door.
On the sofa, the mother and son pulled the blanket up and gave each other a victory sign. "Yay!"
Ruffling her hair, Tan Peishi opened the door. Through the security door, she saw a super handsome man, but his face was expressionless. "Handsome, who are you looking for?"
Before the handsome guy could answer, there was a loud banging on the bottom of the door.
Tan Peishi looked down and saw a child. Her playful side emerged, and she asked in a child's voice, "Little friend, who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Teacher Ling!" The cool young man ignored her prank and answered coolly.
Tan Peishi shrugged, opened the door, and called back, "Ruo Ke, your student."
Ling Ruoke had just finished setting up the sofa and came over.
As soon as the child entered, he rushed straight to her. "Teacher Ling!"
Ling Ruoke was almost knocked over by her. "Zhuang Yuqi?" She looked up and saw an adult. "Mr. Zhuang. Please come in and sit down. I'll get you some water."
Little Fu'an blinked his big eyes, very curious about the first older brother to visit his home. He tilted his head back and asked in a childish voice, "Who are you?"
"Pfft," Tan Peishi laughed, amused by him. "Little guy, this is your older brother, quickly call him brother."
"Brother." The little guy was quite obedient and called out to him.
Zhuang Yuqi, also an only child, has no younger siblings. Seeing this adorable, chubby-cheeked little boy, he grinned and reached out to pat his head. "What's your name?"
"Fu'an. Mommy called me baby..." The little brat is so small, yet he already knows how to show off. After saying that, he ran over and hugged Ruoke's leg.
Zhuang Yuqi's eyes instantly reddened with jealousy. All the other children had their mothers call them "baby," but he didn't!
Ling Ruoke placed the water in front of them, sat down on the sofa opposite, and held the little one on her lap. "Mr. Zhuang, did you need something from me today?"
Zhuang Yicheng smiled and turned to look at his son. "Zhuang Yuqi, didn't you have something to say to your teacher?"
Little Zhuang Yuqi was staring intently at Fu'an, who was sitting on Ruoke's lap, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
"Zhuang Yuqi?"
"Here!" Zhuang Yuqi reflexively jumped off the sofa and stood at attention.
Zhuang Yicheng could tell what he was thinking. He patted his head and said gently, "Didn't you have something to tell the teacher? Why are you spacing out?"
The excitement he had shown on the way here was gone from Zhuang Yuqi's face. Fu An's presence felt like a heavy blow to the back of his head. "Teacher Ling, I...I...I'm alright now."
He lowered his head and listlessly reached out to pull his father. "Commander, let's go home." He looked like an abandoned little animal.
Ling Ruoke quickly put the little guy down, walked over to him, squatted down, and touched his wind-reddened face. "Zhuang Yuqi, what's wrong? You can speak freely, the teacher is listening. Don't you usually talk to the teacher a lot?"
Zhuang Yuqi kept his head down, fidgeting with his fingernails, and remained silent. His large, bright eyes seemed to be moist.
Ling Ruoke had no choice but to look up at her father for help. "Mr. Zhuang?"
Zhuang Yicheng ruffled his son's hair, knowing he was very sad. "Today is his birthday. He hopes you can spend the day with him."
So that's how it is. Ling Ruoke cupped the child's face, smiling gently, and kissed his forehead. "Zhuang Yuqi, Teacher is so happy to celebrate your birthday with you. Teacher wishes you a happy birthday first. I'm so sorry I didn't know beforehand and didn't prepare a birthday present. How about this, Teacher will make you a birthday cake as a birthday present, and after we eat the cake, we'll go out and play together, okay?"
"The teacher can make birthday cakes?" Zhuang Yuqi was immediately excited. The mothers of the children in her class also make birthday cakes for them by hand.
Ling Ruoke nodded with a smile. "Of course. You play with your little brother Fu'an first, and Teacher will make you a cake, okay?" There were ingredients readily available at home, so it was quite convenient.
She turned around and took out the little cakes the little guy ate, and also washed a large plate of fruit.
When it came to figuring out the zodiac animal, Ling Ruoke ran into a problem: how old was Zhuang Yuqi exactly? She had no choice but to go out and ask for help. "Mr. Zhuang, could you please come over here for a moment?"
Zhuang Yicheng was being bombarded with questions by Tan Peishi when he heard her voice, which felt like a savior. He strode over to her in a few steps. "How can I help?"
"I just want to ask what year Zhuang Yuqi was born and what his zodiac sign is." Children are different from adults; they care a lot about the little animal on their birthday cake.
"He is 6 years old this year, the Year of the Dog."
"Thank you. Please go sit outside; the air in the kitchen isn't very good." As she spoke, she focused on her work, and soon an adorable little dog appeared before her.
Zhuang Yicheng stared at her focused profile, slightly taken aback. This girl was so easy to like, so gentle and sincere. Even without love, life would be very comfortable with a wife like her.
"Mission accomplished!" Ling Ruoke took a step back, admiring her masterpiece, and turned to smile at him.
Ling Ruoke put the cake in the oven to bake while she washed the vegetables. By the time the cake was done, it was already lunchtime. They could stay for lunch and then go out to play.
"Do Mr. Zhuang and the children eat spicy food?" Ling Ruoke asked, holding a bunch of bright red chili peppers. She had just bought some fish today and was planning to make boiled fish.
"We are not picky eaters."
"Oh. Mr. Zhuang, there's cooking fumes in the kitchen, please come outside and sit down." She felt a little uncomfortable being stared at like that.
Zhuang Yicheng turned to look at the three children playing together outside and smiled slightly. "They're just three kids. I, as an adult, don't fit in. I might as well stay in the kitchen; maybe I can help out."
Ling Ruoke couldn't help but laugh when she thought of Pei Shi's boisterous personality. Although she felt uncomfortable, since Pei Shi was willing to stay and watch, she couldn't order her to leave, so she had no choice but to let it go.
I didn't prepare many dishes, just five dishes and a soup. But the boiled fish was plentiful, so it should be enough for us.
"You two play, Auntie's going to check if dinner's ready." Tan Peishi tiptoed towards the kitchen, her brow furrowing slightly as she looked at the people inside. Good heavens, this student's parent seems to have designs on Ruoke!
Pushing open the door, she asked with a grin, "Mr. Zhuang, do you want to learn cooking from Ruoke? Then you've really come to the right person. Ruoke is a very good cook. Our captain's men tried her cooking once, and now they rave about it every day, eagerly awaiting the day they can eat your cooking again!"
"Really?" Zhuang Yicheng looked at the loud and boisterous woman with amusement. Was she reminding him that Ling Ruoke was already taken?
Tan Peishi nodded, her expression slightly exaggerated. "Of course. As the saying goes, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Just look at how devoted our captain is to Ruoke; that tells you how amazing Ruoke's cooking is!"
Ling Ruoke rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Peishi, hurry up and take the dishes out. Stop talking nonsense."
"I didn't say anything wrong! Wow, boiled fish! Kids, dinner's ready!"
The dining table is set.
Ling Ruoke also brought out some nutritional drinks and poured a cup for everyone. "Come on, let's first wish Zhuang Yuqi a happy birthday, and hope he stays healthy, happy, and gets smarter and smarter!"
"Happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday!"
Little Zhuang Yuqi grinned, his smile exceptionally sweet. He loved eating boiled fish; the spiciness made his little mouth bright red, and his face flushed too. Occasionally, he would babble something to Xiao Fu'an, and then the two of them would giggle.
Zhuang Yicheng looked at his son, who was finally acting like a child again, and felt a pang of guilt. Perhaps it really was time to find him a mother. Over the years, the little boy had received many gifts for his birthdays, but this year was the happiest he'd ever been. His mouth was constantly grinning from ear to ear.
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