Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Back Again
What’s going on? Huo Shiqian is back again?
Xia Chuyi couldn’t believe her eyes as she stared at the car parked in front of her and muttered to herself.
“Dad, Mom, whose car is parked in front of our house?” Her cousin Zhao Xiaogui had already excitedly darted out and was running in circles around the military vehicle, shouting into the house with great excitement.
He moved too quickly for Xia Chuyi to stop him; she could only hold her forehead in exasperation.
Such a silly cousin—to ask whose car it was when it was parked right at their doorstep.
If there were no surprises, the owner of the car would be inside the house.
Sure enough, Aunt Xia heard the noise and cheerfully pulled back the door curtain to come out.
“What are you yelling about!” she scolded Zhao Xiaogui first.
Then, smiling warmly at Xia Chuyi, she said, “Chuyi, you’re back!”
“Let me tell you, isn’t it a coincidence? Huo Commander’s mission was to visit and comfort the children of martyrs!”
“Aren’t you a martyr’s child? So, after a roundabout trip, he’s back at our home!”
Aunt Xia laughed as she spoke, finding the situation too coincidental.
Xia Chuyi remembered the incident from yesterday in the city.
Was that official Zhang Xiaoling mentioned really Huo Shiqian?
As for coincidences… Ling County was such a small place; it hardly necessitated a personal visit by Huo Shiqian for comforting.
Aunt Xia gestured to her, “Chuyi, come and greet Huo Commander.”
She really wondered what Huo Shiqian was up to.
She entered the house arm-in-arm with her aunt and immediately saw Huo Shiqian sitting in a chair, holding a teacup, composed and at ease.
As she entered the room, Huo Shiqian casually glanced at her, then turned to Uncle Xia to inquire, “Comrade Chuyi is the orphaned child of the martyr Xia Chenggui?”
He acted as if he didn’t recognize her at all.
Uncle Xia didn’t suspect anything and hadn’t thought much about it, only sighing and saying, “Indeed, she is.”
“The year my sister was giving birth in the hospital, we received news that her husband had become a martyr… she almost perished along with the child… In the end, she gave birth to Chuyi through gritted teeth.”
“Poor our Chuyi, she didn’t have a father from birth, and her father never got to see his own child.”
Uncle Xia spoke with great emotion.
“It wasn’t easy for my sister either. She and my brother-in-law got married against his family’s wishes and had to rent a place to live outside.”
“Fortunately, the army leaders understood the situation and granted my brother-in-law’s wife a military family member slot, but alas, their good days were short-lived…”
Another wave of emotion followed.
“Anyway, Chuyi and her mother have had a hard life.”
Huo Shiqian tilted his head slightly, listening intently to Uncle Xia’s stories, his gaze growing heavier as he listened.
“Yes, Comrade Chuyi indeed has a difficult life,” Huo Shiqian said, casually glancing at her.
The stories Uncle Xia told held back much; they weren’t even a tenth of what he knew.
“The organization will certainly take more care of her in the future.” His gaze met Xia Chuyi’s, his tone like a promise.
Xia Chuyi’s gaze flickered slightly.
Did Uncle Liberation Army mean this on behalf of the organization, or did he mean it himself?
The entanglement of their gazes seemed to last only a moment.
Soon, Huo Shiqian turned his head away and began asking about Xia Chuyi’s childhood.
It was just an excuse to understand the living conditions of a martyr’s orphaned child.
Xia Chuyi watched Huo Shiqian pretend to be serious, her hands itching to go up and pinch his cheek.
To let him pretend to be serious all day.
Of course, that was just a thought. She wouldn’t dare to actually do it, not for all the courage in the world.
But even just thinking about it made her quite happy.