Chapter 204: Regret

The sun was high, and He Yuzhu woke up with a start, feeling a sense of suffocation.

He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, and what came into view was Pingping's chubby face—the girl was pinching his nose tightly with two fingers.

"Are you looking to die?" He Yuzhu cursed in a muffled voice, swatting her hand away.

"Pah! Shameless! How dare you sleep in the young lady's bed!"

He Yuzhu gave a start, only then discovering he was lying on Liu Rusi's exquisite carved rosewood bed, wearing a lotus-pink women's camisole.

"What is going on?" He sat up, rubbing his throbbing temples.

"Aren't you ashamed! A grown man crying like a baby!" Pingping curled her lip, her face full of disdain.

"If you talk nonsense again, see if I don't beat you!" He Yuzhu made a move to get up.

"Afraid of being called out for what you did?" Pingping retorted, refusing to be outdone.

He Yuzhu grabbed an embroidered pillow and threw it at her: "The young lady and I are cousins, what's wrong with sleeping in my cousin's bed?"

"You dare say you have no designs on the young lady?" Pingping nimbly dodged the pillow.

"What if I do?" He Yuzhu suddenly grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"The fox's tail is showing! Let me tell you, no chance!"

"We'll see!"

"Pah! A petty person drunk on success!" Pingping stomped out, slamming the door in a huff.

Shen Mansion, study.

Shen Shichang pushed a celadon teacup toward Liu Rusi; the tea was emerald green, wreathed in curling wisps of steam.

Liu Rusi, however, was in no rush to taste the tea, first lighting a cigarette in a leisurely manner.

"Xiao Si, do you know why I summoned you here today?" Shen Shichang spoke slowly.

"To hold me accountable?" Liu Rusi exhaled a string of smoke rings, "Do you want to ask if I was the one who sent people to deal with Mayor He?"

Shen Shichang nodded slightly, his gaze like a torch.

"The man is already dead, what is the point of discussing this?" Liu Rusi said indifferently, flicking the ash with her fingertips, "If he hadn't insisted on driving us to our deaths, we wouldn't have made a move."

"Officer Li is very angry. He has already ordered a thorough investigation into this matter. Someone witnessed the killer's appearance, and the portrait will be released soon. How do you intend to respond?"

"Whoever takes the lead in the investigation will end up just like Deputy Mayor He." Liu Rusi's gaze turned cold, "Father, do you think anyone else will follow in his footsteps?"

"Insolent!" Shen Shichang slammed the table, making the teacup clatter, "From now on, you are not to interfere in my affairs here. I'm afraid one day you'll poke a hole in the sky!"

"If I don't do it, I don't do it." Liu Rusi took a list from her handbag, "These are the people who are still willing to follow you."

Shen Shichang took the list and glanced at it, his brow furrowing tighter: "There were forty-five people collecting pay last month, why are there only thirteen left now?"

"I asked them; most of them don't want to follow you anymore." Liu Rusi's lips curled up, "They want to follow me to do business."

"You are buying people's hearts!" Shen Shichang slammed the list heavily onto the table.

"Let's say I am." Liu Rusi chuckled, "You give them thirty Big Ocean a month, I give them a hundred. If it were you, what would you choose?"

Shen Shichang stared at his daughter in disbelief; this Xiao Si, who once followed his every word, had now become so unfamiliar.

"Father, stop glaring." Liu Rusi wiped away her smile, "The Party and State's fate is exhausted; retreating while you can is the wise move."

"I struggled for half a lifetime to reach this position!" Shen Shichang stood up agitatedly, "How many subordinates rely on me for their meals! How can I just let go of decades of hard work? Besides, the current situation has not yet reached the point of no return..."

Liu Rusi did not continue listening and picked up her handbag, heading toward the door.

Pausing at the threshold, she looked back and said: "Father, persuade those who still want to go against He Yuzhu. He never initiates trouble, but if he is pushed too far... you have seen the fate of Mayor He."

"Xiao Si, are you threatening me?" Shen Shichang's voice trembled.

Liu Rusi did not answer; she turned and left, her footsteps fading into the distance.

Behind her came the crisp sound of porcelain shattering.

Liu Rusi frowned slightly, but she did not look back, walking straight out of the Shen Mansion gate.

Nanluoguxiang No. 95 Courtyard.

Just as He Yuzhu reached the courtyard gate, he saw Li Xiangxiu pacing back and forth in the cold wind, rubbing her frozen, red hands incessantly.

"It wasn't easy to find you!" Li Xiangxiu trotted up to meet him, "Where did you sleep last night?"

"What's it to you?" He Yuzhu exhaled a puff of white mist, "What's the matter?"

Li Xiangxiu leaned into his ear and whispered: "Your father's unit is moving, and your mother plans to return to Si Jiu Cheng; she wants you to go pick them up immediately."

"Coming back at a time like this? It's not safe right now!" He Yuzhu frowned.

"Did you get into trouble again?" Li Xiangxiu asked sharply.

He Yuzhu did not answer, asking instead: "Are you going back yourself, or should I give you a ride to Dongzhimen?"

Li Xiangxiu thought for a moment: "I'll go with you to Dongzhimen."

The truck drove along the bumpy road, He Yuzhu gripping the steering wheel, his gaze fixed intently on the road ahead.

"Has Lao Zhou returned?" he suddenly asked.

"He has. He also said he wants to see you in the next few days."

"I've caused some trouble, it's better to have less contact with you all." He Yuzhu's tone was grave.

"I knew it, you caused trouble again. Then isn't it very dangerous for your mother to come back?"

"I have no choice, I'll just have to take it one step at a time!"

After dropping Li Xiangxiu off at Dongzhimen, He Yuzhu immediately turned the truck around and sped toward the Genjudi.

When he reached the destination, the main force had already set out, leaving only the logistics unit still packing their gear.

He Yuzhu found his father among the busy crowd.

"Father, where are you all going?"

"Xibaipo." He Daqing patted the dust off his hands, "There might be a war; it would be safer for you to take your mother and Yushui back to the city."

"But I don't think it's safe!" He Yuzhu said, feeling conflicted.

He Daqing did not answer, but handed over a list: "The regiment is not short on grain right now, but medicine and ammunition are tight. Regimental Commander Yang has sent three people to help you procure supplies—Ershuan, and the families of Wang Xiaomi and Li Dahua."

"Where am I supposed to arrange for these people to stay?"

"Stay in the East Cross Courtyard; I've already thought it all out for you."

He Yuzhu was between laughter and tears: "Dad, you even managed to calculate the private words I spoke to my mother; you're really something!"

He Family Courtyard.

As soon as He Yuzhu entered the room, he saw the kang piled high with large and small bundles, leaving almost no room to step.

"Mom, why don't we leave these old items behind?" He Yuzhu frowned and said.

Shen Guizhi pursed her lips toward the window: "They all belong to Xiaomi and Dahua's families; we can't just make people throw away all their belongings."

At this moment, He Yushui came skipping in and held out her small hand: "Brother, give me more candy! I'm leaving soon, and I still don't have anything to give them!"

He Yuzhu pulled a jar of glass marbles and five packs of candy from his pocket and stuffed them into her hands.

"Give these to them as a keepsake!"

The little girl hugged the items and ran out joyfully, her two small braids dancing in the sunlight.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, when He Yuzhu was leading the group to set off, he was surprised to find that all the children in the village had come to see them off.

A shy little boy handed He Yushui a little black dog; the little girl hugged the dog tightly and began to wail.

"Mom, you've been in the village for nearly two years, yet your popularity isn't even as good as this little brat's?" He Yuzhu teased.

Shen Guizhi lightly slapped her son: "She gives away everything we have at home, how could her popularity not be good?"

When He Yuzhu drove to the city gate, he discovered that the people entering the city were lined up in a long queue, and everyone had to undergo a strict inspection. His heart suddenly jumped into his throat.

First parking the car at a distance, He Yuzhu pretended to be a passerby and slowly walked closer to investigate.

One look was all it took for him to gasp—a wanted poster was pasted on the city wall, and the portrait looked seventy percent like him!

"Damn it! Letting that child soldier go really caused trouble." He Yuzhu cursed inwardly; it seemed that Daoist was nothing but a disaster, and he had even stupidly sighed with emotion yesterday—it was truly boring to the extreme.

Having no other choice, He Yuzhu returned to the car and quickly applied makeup on himself.

He examined himself carefully in the rearview mirror; after the makeup, he looked very different from the portrait, so he took a deep breath and decided to swagger into the city.

"If these people dare to stop me, I'll have no choice but to start a massacre."