Arriving at the entrance of the family compound, Lin Aiyun was also escorted out. Upon seeing this, Zhang Xiaoling was startled, then became even more hysterical.
Soon, all the related personnel were taken away, and the onlookers dispersed in twos and threes while discussing among themselves.
Xia Chu looked up to see the clouds clearing away; the sky over Ling County had changed already.
Someone held her hand from the side—it was Huo Shiqian.
"Don’t worry, they will receive the punishment they deserve," Huo Shiqian’s deep and serious voice resounded in her ear.
The corners of Xia Chu’s mouth curved into a smile as she turned to face him, meeting his deep eyes that harbored a brewing storm, and she said, "Yes, I know."
Good is rewarded with good, and evil with evil; it’s not that they go unpunished, but that their time has not yet come.
Without their protective umbrella, the Zhang family awaited the most severe punishment.
"Huo Shiqian, let’s go to the hospital and good news with uncle and the others!" Xia Chu suggested, blinking her eyes.
Huo Shiqian realized that this girl only called him "Brother Shiqian" when she intended to curry favor or act coy.
It didn’t matter. There was plenty of time ahead, the young lady would need to be gradually taught.
He held her hand and, after a brief glance at the dispersing crowd, lowered his gaze and said, "Okay."
Xia Chu’s eyes immediately curved into crescents.
It was nice that Uncle Liberation Army was now more willing to consider her opinions.
Even though he still liked to keep a straight face, as cold and unmovable as a block of ice.
It didn’t matter. There was plenty of time ahead, and she would gradually teach Uncle Liberation Army!
With different thoughts in their hearts, they affectionately held hands and walked towards the hospital.
"Seriously, Huo Shiqian, you saw it today; my relatives are like that, and I myself am , not gentle at all. Do you ever regret being with me?" she asked him casually.
Huo Shiqian considered the question seriously and replied, "Since I’ve known you, you’ve never had a gentle image."
Should have known better than to ask.
"What image do I have then?" she asked, biting her lip.
Without the slightest hesitation and with an expressionless face, he said matter-of-factly, "Sharp-tongued, cunning, like a cute little fox."
...she could reluctantly accept the word "cute."
"Huo Shiqian, let me tell you, you’ve encountered me," Xia Chu jostled his hand casually, "otherwise, you would end up single forever."
"Single forever? What does that mean?" Huo Shiqian slightly tilted his head and repeated.
"It means nothing!" Xia Chu’s smile widened, her eyes turning into crescents.
Looking at her sly, fox-like smile, Huo Shiqian calmly pinched her cheek and said, "Actually, my family is not simple either."
"I’ve known for a long time that your family is complicated," Xia Chu responded with a smile.
Huo Shiqian shook his head and said, "That’s not what I mean."
His expression unchanged, still very calm, he said, "My mother didn’t pass away too late; she died when I was fifteen."
Fifteen? Xia Chu quietly calculated in her mind—wasn’t that around the start of that turbulent decade?
"My mother was from a respected family, and my father had a keen political sense; hence, before the chaos started, he divorced my mother and remarried someone ’well-matched’ in social status."
So, his father had abandoned his mother?
Xia Chu raised her eyebrows and asked, "And you?"
Huo Shiqian said, "I stayed with my mother. She was very gentle and taught me there was no need for hatred."