After a long while, the woman's eyes slowly moved.
"Xiaoqian..."
An old face, weeping uncontrollably, seemed both familiar and utterly unfamiliar.
She remembered the voice; she wasn't oblivious to the outside world. This voice had accompanied her through countless long days and nights.
I wanted to laugh, but tears rolled down my cheeks first. I tried to call out his name, but my throat was so dry that I couldn't utter a single syllable.
Holding the woman's withered, fleshless hand, the old man wept like a wronged child.
Zuo Ling watched indifferently, showing neither curiosity about their past nor any excitement or sadness.
The old man's tears flowed like a dam bursting, while the woman's were like a babbling brook—one unrestrained, the other reserved.
As she cried, the woman finally noticed that there was another person in the room. When she saw Zuo Ling's face, her eyes widened in surprise, confusion, fear, and disbelief.
For her, the past 37 years have been like a long, long sleep.
She raised her hand towards Zuo Ling, tears streaming down her face, making incoherent sounds.
There was a bowl and a spoon on the table. Zuo Ling poured some water into the bowl, which was mixed with some water from the space well.
The woman grew increasingly anxious, trying to grasp the old man's hand tightly, wanting him to tell her who Zuo Ling was. However, her physical condition was terrible; her hand trembled as she held on for a long time, but she couldn't muster any strength.
Noticing the woman's movements, the old man wiped away his tears. "Yes, yes, she is your daughter. You've been asleep for so long, so long, and she's grown up so much."
Daughter, she heard right, it really was her daughter.
To avoid being captured by the Jin family, he had no choice but to abandon his daughter at the gate of the orphanage.
In the blink of an eye, the little bundle of joy I once held in my arms has grown so big.
The woman's lips moved as she stared intently at Zuo Ling's face, not even daring to blink.
Zuo Ling placed the spoon near the woman's mouth. The woman stared at Zuo Ling's face, opened her mouth unconsciously, and was fed more than ten spoonfuls of water before putting down the bowl.
Zuo Ling wasn't as emotional as a woman. When she needed a woman, she wasn't there; when she didn't need her anymore, she appeared. How could she possibly feel any affection for her?
The scenes of mothers and daughters, fathers and sons who haven't seen each other for decades, embracing and crying in each other's arms, as depicted in novels and television dramas, could never happen to Zuo Ling.
Zuo Ling's indifference stung the woman, and the light in her eyes shattered bit by bit.
"you……"
A hoarse sound, like coarse sand rubbing against glass, burst forth from his throat.
The word "you" exhausted all of a woman's strength, leaving her unable to utter another word.
The old man was displeased with Zuo Ling's attitude and was about to reprimand her when Zuo Ling, unwilling to listen to his rambling, preemptively said:
"She doesn't have much time left. If there's anything you want to say, you can tell her. Don't worry about my affairs."
What?! The old man turned to look at the woman, then turned back to find that Zuo Ling had already pushed open the door and left.
He had been lying in bed for 37 years without moving, and all the flesh in his body had become limp.
Facing such a face, and the owner of that face being her closest person, Zuo Ling had already reached her limit in enduring it until now.
Leaning wearily against the door, unable to move for a long time, she wasn't as cold as she seemed, but she also couldn't genuinely feel close to anyone.
When I opened my eyes again, I was met with a pair of scrutinizing eyes.
Ning Qiang tried to find some clues on Zuo Ling's face, but he was disappointed. Apart from exhaustion, he couldn't find any other emotion.
Zuo Ling walked out, not wanting to stay there for even a minute longer.
As for the woman inside, the old man had protected her for 37 years, so he wouldn't mind protecting her for a few more days.
The alarm blared, each blare more urgent than the last. Ning Qiang took off running outside, with Zuo Ling following behind.
Pei Nansheng, Xiao Hao, and the three little ones waited anxiously outside.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Zuo Ling come out.
Everywhere there were the sounds of hurried footsteps and shouts. Soldiers were assembling, and cannons were being adjusted, giving the impression of an impending invasion.
In the distance, five armed helicopters circled high in the sky, their five-pointed stars clearly visible.
The soldiers were at a loss. Which unit of the Chinese military were they from?
They're all Chinese. Should we fire or not?
A man leaned casually against the cabin door, holding up a megaphone and shouting:
"Brothers and sisters, we are all one family. Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. We are here to pick up people. Keep your guns low. If we really fight, we'll make a fool of ourselves in front of outsiders."
He greeted the crowd with a playful smile and a very江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) air, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
"Which department are you from? Sending five armed helicopters to pick people up? Are you kidding me?"
The man laughed arrogantly:
"It's not funny at all. We really are here to pick people up. Didn't you see the five-star logo on our plane? And our fluent Mandarin is something foreigners can't fake."
Everyone chuckled in unison. "You have that accent you don't even know where it came from, yet you dare to shamelessly claim you speak Mandarin."
If it weren't for his heavy local accent, he might have actually fired.
Zuo Ling and her family followed Ning Qiang onto the ship's deck.
The man's eyes lit up, he stood up, hooked one foot on the cabin door, and pointed in the direction of Zuo Ling:
"They're the people we're looking to pick up, hahaha, hand them over."
After saying that, he waved vigorously at Zuo Ling: "Sister Zuo, don't be afraid, we've come to pick you up."
Ning Qiang's mouth twitched, as if I had done something to them.
Everyone looked this way.
Xiao Hao exclaimed excitedly, "It's Brother Chen Hao!"
Not only Chen Hao, but also Guo Qi and Di Sheng came.
Ning Qiang scoffed. The Bai family has planted quite a few people on my Ning family's territory. It hasn't been long, and they've already come looking for us.
A quick glance at Zuo Ling and her siblings reveals how much the Bai family values these three children!
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