Chapter 221: Sorry, I am a Police Officer

Ji Weidong's jeep did not wait for Commandant Zheng's motorcade, as they were not heading in the same direction. Ji Weidong took Li Xuewu directly back to the police station.

There was already a motorcade waiting at the police station. The people standing by the vehicles were dressed the same as Commandant Zheng. This time, Ji Weidong did not introduce Li Xuewu, but instead swaggered in with Li Xuewu and went straight to Shen Fang's office.

Shen Fang did not leave the room; he simply sat in the office with Li Xuewu, drinking tea and chatting. The conversation was nothing more than today's operation and the subsequent procedures.

Li Xuewu took the cigarette Shen Fang handed him, waved off the match, and signaled that he would light it himself. Just as he took a puff, he looked through the office window and saw Wei Shuwen being led onto a truck.

Although separated by the window, Wei Shuwen's emotions appeared quite stable. When she was being fitted with a black blindfold in the courtyard, she even smiled and said something to the Investigation Department personnel, who in turn gently helped her adjust it.

Shen Fang smoked his cigarette and asked Ji Weidong with a smile, "Do you have any opinions on this Wei Shuwen yet?"

Ji Weidong looked at the interrogation report in his hand. After Li Xuewu left yesterday, the Investigation Department had conducted second and third rounds of interrogations, including a full day of re-examinations today. This was standard procedure.

"The investigation report you provided is quite pointed. How come her family members came looking for her?"

Shen Fang shook his head and said, "How is that possible? Our standards might not be as high as yours, but we aren't incompetent. How could we let someone just come looking for us?"

After saying this, Shen Fang lowered his head, flicked the ash from his cigarette, and added, "I read the investigation report and personally conducted follow-up visits today."

Li Xuewu did not participate in their conversation; he just stared blankly while smoking, watching Zhou Chunlai and Ao Zhongliang being identified one by one, blindfolded, and sent onto the truck outside the window.

Ji Weidong raised his eyebrows with some interest, signaling for Shen Fang to continue.

Shen Fang spoke to himself, "Her husband is disabled, a former railway worker who now relies on a meager basic allowance from his unit. They have two children, the older one is 7, the younger one is 3."

Shen Fang blew the ash off his clothes and continued, "When I went there, the older one was cooking. The porridge was so thin it could serve as a mirror. Wei Shuwen hasn't been back for several days, and the family thought something had happened to her. The father and his two daughters were at home shedding tears."

Li Xuewu heard Shen Fang's words, but he kept the same expression while looking out the window. It wasn't that he was hard-hearted; it was just that he had seen too many partings and deaths, and life was full of hardships.

Ji Weidong frowned, looked at Wei Shuwen's interrogation and investigation reports again, and picked up his pen to write something on them.

"Three or four days, a week at the latest, and there will be results."

Hearing Ji Weidong's reply, Shen Fang said nothing more. For this man to give a specific timeframe was already a favor given for Li Xuewu's sake, and also in recognition of his own active cooperation throughout the case.

After Ji Weidong finished speaking, the group stopped talking, because Dong Wenwen was being led out outside the window.

Li Xuewu's hand holding the cigarette paused abruptly, then he slowly brought it to his mouth and took a puff. For some reason, today's cigarette tasted a bit bitter.

Dong Wenwen looked very haggard. Her hair was no longer as neat and soft as it had been in the hospital ward that day, and her face was ashen. Perhaps sensing Li Xuewu's gaze, she looked toward him before being blindfolded.

Li Xuewu did not dodge Dong Wenwen's gaze; he just squinted slightly, watching the tears stream down the face of his former lover.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered that Dong Wenwen might be the professor, but he had chosen to give this beautiful life one chance. He just hadn't expected her to choose the path she least should have.

Watching the Investigation Department personnel force Dong Wenwen's head to the side to put on the blindfold, and watching her being pushed onto the truck, Li Xuewu knew what this represented. He shook his hand slightly as he finished the last of the cigarette, flicked the butt casually into the ashtray, and let the lingering smoke drift into the red glow of the sunset.

"Sigh~ A beauty she was, why turn to thievery?" Shen Fang sighed softly.

Li Xuewu's expression remained somewhat wooden. He wiped the cold moisture that had appeared on his face at some point, coughed, and turned away from the window.

Ji Weidong also had no desire to look at the ugly behavior of those small-time thugs outside, so he lowered his head to write on the report.

Shen Fang stood up and walked to the window, watching Zhou Dewang and his brother, the little black Fatty, and the other thugs. Some were wailing, some were rolling on the ground, and some had wet their pants as they were blindfolded. The sight was truly unsightly.

"Is it necessary to treat these people as accomplices?"

Ji Weidong looked up at Shen Fang, then gestured toward Li Xuewu, and Shen Fang stopped talking.

Li Xuewu did not explain anything to Shen Fang. When these people threatened Li Xuecai and Li Xue, and said they would wipe out Li Xuewu's entire family, Li Xuewu had already decided to kill them.

One can be a thief for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days. In a few years, these people would all become a scourge. Better to wipe them out early; there was no need to invite trouble or leave future threats.

Coupled with the Dong Wenwen affair, Li Xuewu's last bit of tolerance had been completely exhausted.

Li Xuewu signed the report Ji Weidong handed him without even looking at it, then passed it to Shen Fang.

Shen Fang was somewhat surprised; he looked at Li Xuewu, then at Ji Weidong.

Ji Weidong took the report from Li Xuewu's hand and handed it to Shen Fang, saying, "Sign it. You all supported this case, so your name belongs on it too."

Shen Fang signed his name on the report with some excitement. After signing, he wanted to say something more to Li Xuewu, but Li Xuewu ignored the topic.

Seeing that Shen Fang had finished signing, Li Xuewu stood up and said, "I'm heading out since there's nothing else. I have something to do tonight. Keep an eye on the Rolling Mill side; we'll deal with them tomorrow."

Ji Weidong asked in surprise, "No more fishing? Your patience is limited. They said the fish you caught yesterday were yours—you didn't buy them, did you?"

Just as Ji Weidong finished speaking, the phone on Shen Fang's desk rang. Shen Fang picked it up, listened for a moment, and handed the receiver to Li Xuewu.

"It's for you. It's your factory's Security Division Chief."

Both Li Xuewu and Ji Weidong raised their eyebrows. Li Xuewu stepped forward and took the receiver.

"Hello, this is Li Xuewu. Is this Division Chief Fu?"

On the phone, Fu Bin said, "Xuewu, how is the case going?"

Li Xuewu frowned as soon as he heard Fu Bin's words. It seemed Fu Bin had ears in the Guard Team.

"I'm not very clear on that. I was brought here by the Investigation Department to be asked about previous investigation details. I haven't participated much, and because of confidentiality discipline, I've just been staying here."

Hearing Li Xuewu's words, Ji Weidong smiled with amusement. This Li Xuewu was spouting nonsense; he could lie through his teeth without even blinking. He played this game even when reporting to his superiors. It seemed his relationship with this Division Chief wasn't very harmonious.

Fu Bin also paused on the phone before continuing, "You still need to take the initiative to play our role. Look at how well Liu Fusheng is doing now; he hasn't been home for two nights, he's been chasing this case the whole time."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes. I should learn from Comrade Liu Fusheng. Look, I haven't been home for two days either."

Fu Bin was blocked by Li Xuewu and paused again. The old man's ability to control his temper was decent; he didn't start cursing directly on the phone despite Li Xuewu's lack of cooperation with his performance.

"I have always appreciated your ability, and you know I have always supported you. I still hope you can take the initiative to move closer to the organization, work hard to handle the case well, and carry out your work under the organization's leadership."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes. I have been reporting my work progress to Li Kezhang Xu Ning. Why, didn't Li Kezhang Xu report to Li Kezhang Liu? That can't be. Did Li Kezhang Liu forget to report to you because he was busy with official business?"

Even with his good temper, Fu Bin was driven to distraction by Li Xuewu's runaround. He said, "Since you've reported it, that's fine. You go ahead and get busy."

Li Xuewu quickly moved the receiver away from his ear. Sure enough, a "bang" sound came from the receiver.

"It seems his ability to control his temper isn't quite there yet. I only used thirty percent of my power."

Ji Weidong chuckled as he watched Li Xuewu play with his words. He finally saw clearly what kind of creature Li Xuewu was.

"You aren't afraid you won't be able to go back to the Rolling Mill?"

Li Xuewu ignored Shen Fang's teasing and said to Ji Weidong, "Don't mention me when you go to the Rolling Mill. Just say I'm being kept here by you to write reports."

After speaking, Li Xuewu raised his hand to check his watch and said, "I won't waste any more of your time. I have to go meet my girlfriend's parents."

Ji Weidong said with a smile, "You're really getting married? I thought you were joking."

Li Xuewu put on his hat and walked out. He turned back and said to Ji Weidong, "Do you know why I only drank the soup and didn't eat the fish meat that day?"

Both Ji Weidong and Shen Fang raised their eyebrows. This brat Li Xuewu must be holding back some malice, so neither of them asked.

Li Xuewu, however, didn't want to let them off the hook. He said with a smile, "Those fish were indeed caught by me. The location was exactly where you salvaged the corpses of our factory's engineers."

"Ugh~!"

"Li Xuewu, I'll f*** your grandfather~"

Li Xuewu ignored the cursing from Shen Fang and the other in the office, turned around, and walked out of the hall. He kicked the motorcycle to start it and checked the fuel tank. It was fine; he hadn't wasted his two fish. Shen Fang was quite decent; he had filled his motorcycle with gas.

Li Xuewu really didn't know what to bring to meet Lin Tingting's parents. If Lin Tingting had already taken something, then that was fine; if not, he would just grab something directly from their Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

For a first visit, what you bring isn't important; what matters is not going empty-handed.

He parked the motorcycle at the entrance of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Checking the time, it was already closing time. He saw people in the hall walking out, with the cooperative's security guard behind them "persuading" them.

"Hurry up, it's closing time. If you want to buy things, come early tomorrow. It's definitely not happening today. I have to go home to pick up my kids; I can't afford to waste time with you all."

Li Xuewu sat on the motorcycle watching this magical scene. He truly envied the current business environment—few disputes and goods were easy to sell.

Lin Tingting came out first, not waiting for the store to close. Clearly, her colleagues were looking out for her, as one could see those older sisters peering at Li Xuewu on the motorcycle through the window.

Although motorcycles weren't rare now, they weren't something just anyone could ride. If a unit had one, everyone would fight to ride it. Those who could ride one home were either on a mission or were cadres.

Basically everyone in the building knew Li Xuewu was the Li Kezhang of the Rolling Mill's Security Section. They all muttered to themselves about Lin Tingting's marriage—it was truly too good, and too coincidental.

Li Xuewu jumped off the bike, put the two bags of fruit in Lin Tingting's hands into the sidecar, helped Lin Tingting sit in, and then strapped her bicycle onto the motorcycle's spare tire.

This Changjiang 750 was truly magical; the mounting point above the spare tire was perfect for locking a "Twenty-Eight" bicycle onto it.

Li Xuewu jumped onto the motorcycle, greeted the saleswomen who had come out, and rode toward Lin Tingting's home.

Lin Tingting had really shown off in front of her colleagues. She wanted to keep her mouth shut, but she couldn't stop the corners of her lips from curling up, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Li Xuewu looked at Lin Tingting and asked with a smile, "What are you giggling about? If you don't close your mouth, you'll be filled with wind in a moment."

Lin Tingting covered her mouth with her hand and gave Li Xuewu a playful pat.

"Sister Wang from the cashier wanted to introduce her relative's girl to you. Didn't you see Sister Wang's face looking bad just now?"

Li Xuewu smiled and said nothing. This might be a "death trap" question; better not to answer. If he stepped on a landmine, it would be hard to deal with.

Lin Tingting didn't mind that Li Xuewu didn't answer. She was in a great mood today, and despite the strong wind on the road, she chatted with Li Xuewu about interesting things at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative the whole way.

Only upon entering her own alley did she restrain her emotions, greeting neighbors with a reserved smile. One could tell from the corners of her lips that her mood was even better now.

Arriving at the courtyard entrance, Li Xuewu parked the bike against the wall and unloaded Lin Tingting's bicycle. Lin Tingting jumped off the bike carrying the two bags of fruit and said, "Let's go, we're home."

Li Xuewu turned off the motorcycle, straightened his clothes, took the two bags of fruit from Lin Tingting, hung them on the handlebars, and followed Lin Tingting into the courtyard.

To be honest, Li Xuewu was still a bit nervous, especially in this situation—such an urgent visit, it felt like he was storming the house to snatch a bride.

The courtyard where the Lin family lived was the same layout as Li Xuewu's—a Sihe Academy, also a large courtyard. They lived on the east side of the middle courtyard. All the way into the courtyard, Lin Tingting kept introducing people to Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu greeted them according to Lin Tingting's instructions, receiving a crowd of strange looks, followed by a burst of enthusiastic gazes after hearing he was a Li Kezhang of the Security Section.

Walking and stopping, they entered the middle courtyard. Lin Tingting led Li Xuewu straight into the house. The Lin family's kitchen was set up on the south side of the house. This was considered a small detail; the south represents fire, so most families put their kitchens on the south side.

Li Xuewu's family's kitchen was not like that; theirs was on the north side. This was because if it were on the south, the chimney would face the moon gate leading out of the courtyard. The gate represents wind and wealth, and it shouldn't face fire, so they placed the kitchen on the north.

Even in normal residential design, no one's kitchen faces the front door. If a modern home has one, it was designed by someone without a brain.

Lin Tingting's parents were in the kitchen wrapping dumplings. As soon as Lin Tingting entered the house, she called out, "Dad, Mom, I'm back."

Lin's father had his back to the entrance, pinching a dumpling in his hand, and said, "We were just saying, there's no garlic at home. If we'd known, we would have had you bring some back. Go to your He Yushu's house and borrow a head of garlic. 'Dumplings for departure, noodles for arrival.' We'll have one last meal of dumplings in this house. Your mom finished the procedures today..."

As Lin's father was speaking, he felt something was wrong. His wife was standing there with a dough wrapper in her hand and a rolling pin, staring blankly at the entrance, and his daughter hadn't responded. He turned his head abruptly and saw his daughter standing at the entrance with a young man.

Li Xuewu saw Lin's father turn his head and was also stunned. The smile he had just squeezed out froze, and his whole body tensed up.

"Plop."

The dumpling Lin's father hadn't finished pinching fell onto the cutting board, and the meat filling inside the wrapper scattered. The sound shattered the stalemate and the brief silence.

Sensing the change in her boyfriend's body, Lin Tingting thought Li Xuewu was nervous. Seeing her parents' astonishment, she thought they were surprised by her sudden arrival. Lin Tingting said somewhat shyly, "Dad, Mom, this is my boyfriend, Li Xuewu. He works at the Rolling Mill."

After introducing Li Xuewu, Lin Tingting turned to Li Xuewu and said, "Xuewu, these are my parents. You should call them Uncle Lin and Aunt Zhang."

Li Xuewu squinted his eyes, slowly placed the net bag in his hand onto the dining table in the living room, inadvertently unzipped his leather jacket halfway, and said, "Hello Uncle Lin, hello Aunt Zhang. This is my first time visiting, sorry for the intrusion."

Lin Tingting looked at her boyfriend strangely, not knowing what Li Xuewu was doing. He seemed nervous, but not the kind of nervous she expected.

Her parents were also more surprised than happy.

"Good, good, no intrusion at all. It's all fate."

Lin's father rubbed the dough in his hands, inadvertently stood up straight, and blocked his wife behind him.

Just as Lin Tingting was wondering what was wrong with her parents, Lin Mother spoke up, "Ting, go borrow some garlic from He Yushu's house. We'll eat as soon as you get back."

Lin Tingting really wanted to stay at home. First, she was afraid Li Xuewu would be nervous and not know what to say, annoying her parents; second, she saw her parents' attitude was wrong and was afraid Li Xuewu would be wronged.

But since her mother had already spoken, she had to say "Xuewu, you sit" to Li Xuewu, and then left the house, looking back every few steps.

The moment Lin Tingting dropped the door curtain, Lin's father reached out to draw his gun. But at home, he wasn't that alert or prepared. To make wrapping dumplings easier, his holster had been shifted to the back. Now, trying to draw his gun was more than a step slower than Li Xuewu.

"If I were you, I'd put my hand down. Your hand definitely isn't faster than my bullet."

Lin's father saw Li Xuewu standing in the middle of the living room with his gun already aimed at him. Although he didn't know why Li Xuewu's draw speed was so fast, he still pulled back the hand he had reached behind him.

"How did you find me? And how did you get close to my daughter?"

Li Xuewu didn't answer Lin's father's question, but instead asked, "Are you Lin Xuefeng?"

Lin's father was silent for a few seconds, then slowly nodded and said, "It's me."

Li Xuewu stared at the middle-aged man in his forties and asked, "Is your codename 'Postman'? Was going to find Hu Zhengquan to buy fish that day a rendezvous?"

Lin's father waved his hand at his wife, sat down calmly next to the cutting board, and said, "You already know everything, why ask me?"

Li Xuewu looked at the nervous Lin Mother and asked, "Then is the cleaner your son?"

As soon as Li Xuewu finished speaking, Lin Mother could no longer hold on and collapsed to the floor. Tears fell silently. Although she looked extremely grief-stricken, not a single sound of crying came out; only the tears on the floor were accumulating rapidly.

Lin's father looked at the gun in Li Xuewu's hand, frowned in grief, and steadied himself by holding onto the cutting board. He said in a hoarse voice, "You're holding my son's gun, so you're the one who killed Jiadong?"

Li Xuewu took the handcuffs off his waist and threw them at Lin's father's feet, saying, "You know what you've done, and you know what your son did. No need for me to waste my breath, right? You'd better come with me now; I don't want Tingting to see all this."

Lin Xuefeng's eyes remained fixed on Li Xuewu's eyes, not paying attention to the handcuffs at his feet, and asked, "You haven't answered my first question."

Li Xuewu gripped the gun tightly and said, "Tingting and I met a month ago. I wasn't even handling this case then."

Lin's father nodded and sighed, "It's my fault. I've harmed her."

He then raised his head to look at Li Xuewu and said, "You should know what the Professor arranged for me to do. As long as I get to Modu and retrieve the negatives, I can sell them for a huge price. Besides what I promised to share with their families, I can get a large sum of money."

Li Xuewu stood in the living room staring at Lin Xuefeng, not knowing what Lin Xuefeng meant by this, but he didn't interrupt him.

Lin Xuefeng continued, "I don't hate you. You are a soldier, I am a thief. Jiadong's death was his fate; otherwise, it couldn't have been you who killed him. Come with us, marry Tingting. I only have Tingting left as a child. The money will all be yours."

Li Xuewu looked at Lin Xuefeng, who was looking at him, and didn't give the answer Lin Xuefeng expected. Instead, he shook his head and said, "Sorry, I am a police officer."

Lin Xuefeng said in exasperation, "How much money can you earn being a police officer your whole life? Do you know how much money that is? Do you know how wonderful it is abroad?"

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "My salary is indeed not high, and I haven't seen much big money, nor have I seen the wonders abroad. But I believe Tingting wouldn't allow me to do that, and my red heart wouldn't allow me to do that either."

Lin Xuefeng looked at Li Xuewu with an expression of looking at a fool and said, "What has your red heart given you? Can it give you a comfortable life? Huh?! I can give it to you!"

"No! You can't give it either!" Li Xuewu shook his head firmly.

Lin Xuefeng refused to believe it and said again, "As long as that negative can..."

"That negative is fake," Li Xuewu said calmly, holding the gun, which made both Lin Xuefeng and his wife look astonished.

"What did you say?"

"That negative is fake," Li Xuewu emphasized again.

"How is that possible? That was..."

Lin Xuefeng refused to believe it and wanted to tell Li Xuewu something, but was interrupted by Li Xuewu.

"That was a fake document I placed in Ao Zhongliang's desk."

"What? It was you! How is that possible!"

Li Xuewu shook his head and said, "Ao Zhongliang still hasn't figured out how the document was placed in his desk. I said I put it there, but he didn't believe me. He insisted it was one of you who shoved it at him to handle. He should have asked you, right?"

Hearing Li Xuewu's explanation, Lin Xuefeng's spine collapsed instantly. He said in disbelief, "That can't be, that can't be. The codename matched, and there was an official seal."

Li Xuewu looked at Lin Xuefeng and said, "Stop struggling in vain. The codename was something I made up, and the content was something I wrote. It was just the training outline for the Rolling Mill's police dogs."

"Actually, I should have suspected you earlier. Our people followed you home and found nothing unusual, so I ignored you. That day, I was distracted by Tingting. If I had been more careful and asked for your address, I wouldn't have let you remain at large until now."

Lin Xuefeng seemed to grasp a glimmer of hope and asked Li Xuewu, "What about Tingting? You wouldn't..."

Li Xuewu frowned and said, "I saw Tingting at Kunming Lake that day, but I chose to trust her, so I never went to ask her about this. I was originally planning to ask after this case was finished, but I didn't expect Tingting to say you were moving."

Lin Xuefeng nodded and said, "Things in the world are unpredictable, and fate plays tricks on people. Let her mother and daughter go, and I'll go with you."

"Dad! Wuwuwu!"

The door was pushed open violently, and Lin Tingting rushed into the room, looking at Lin Xuefeng and crying "Wuwuwu."

"Tingting, you!" Lin Xuefeng looked at his daughter in astonishment.

"Wuwuwu, why, why, wuwuwu~"

Facing his daughter's questioning, Lin Xuefeng was speechless. He could only sigh helplessly and pick up the handcuffs from the floor.

Seeing Lin Tingting enter, Li Xuewu also felt sad. He didn't know how to face her, especially since he had personally killed her brother, Lin Jiadong. Amidst her crying, he slowly lowered the hand holding the gun.

At this moment, Lin Mother stood up crying, silently shedding tears as she walked behind Lin Xuefeng and leaned on his back.

Lin Xuefeng touched the white hair of his wife leaning on his shoulder and said, "It's all fate, it's all fate. If it's in your fate, you'll eventually have it; if it's not, don't force it."

Lin Mother leaned on Lin Xuefeng's shoulder and muttered, "I don't know about fate or not, I just know he killed Jiadong."

Just as Lin Mother said this, Lin Xuefeng felt the holster on his lower back being opened, and his service pistol was drawn.

"No!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

"Ah! ~~~ Ah! ~~~ Wuwuwu~~~ Ah~~~"

Li Xuewu looked at the blood on his arm, then looked at Lin Mother lying on the floor opposite him. There was a bloody hole thicker than a thumb in the center of her forehead, still gushing blood.

Lin Xuefeng stared blankly at his wife lying on the ground. She had been wrapping dumplings with him just a moment ago. His lover of several decades, with whom he had shared joys and sorrows—he had felt something was wrong the moment she said that sentence, but he hadn't expected her to be so extreme.

Lin Tingting had already lost her voice from crying. She knelt on the floor with her mouth open, silently watching her mother's corpse, her hands and feet seemingly disobedient as she crawled bit by bit toward her mother's side.

The "No" from just now was Lin Tingting shouting when she saw her mother draw her father's pistol and point it at Li Xuewu, but it hadn't stopped her mother's resentment toward Li Xuewu for killing her brother.

So the first shot was fired by Lin Tingting's mother.

Li Xuewu's reaction was also very timely. When Lin Tingting's mother raised the gun, he had already reflexively lunged to one side, dodging the bullet aimed at his heart and raising his gun to counterattack.

In the end, it was a case of calculated intent against none. Li Xuewu was still hit, and he and Lin Tingting's mother fell to the ground one after the other.

Listening to Lin Tingting's heart-rending roar, Li Xuewu's arm was bleeding, and his heart was bleeding too.

Someone at the Lin family's window was already secretly looking inside. Li Xuewu ignored them, his gun muzzle never leaving Lin Xuefeng.

Lin Xuefeng seemed to have frozen, sitting there motionless, leaning on the table, looking at his wife's corpse, and watching his daughter collapse on her mother's corpse, crying without a sound.

Perhaps ten minutes had passed, perhaps longer, because Li Xuewu's arm was already numb, the wound was still oozing blood, his whole body was cold, and his breathing was somewhat rapid.

Li Xuewu knew this was due to excessive blood loss, but the hand holding the gun didn't even shake, firmly aiming at Lin Xuefeng.

"Clang."

The Lin family's door was pushed open, and the sound of several people's footsteps approached.

"Xuewu!"

Hearing the call, Li Xuewu looked up and saw Ji Weidong and Shen Fang. Instantly, he relaxed his mind, his hand fell to the ground uncontrollably, and he collapsed on the floor, fainting.

In a haze, he heard Lin Tingting's heart-rending crying, Ji Weidong's roar for people to carry him to the hospital, Shen Fang's shout for people to get down...

The fifty strings of the zither have no reason,

Each string and each bridge recalls the years of youth.

Zhuangzi dreams at dawn, lost in the butterfly,

The Emperor Wang's spring heart is entrusted to the cuckoo.

In the vast sea, the moon shines on pearls with tears,

In the Blue Field, the sun warms the jade to produce smoke.

Can this feeling be saved to become a memory?

It was already lost at the time.

The warm winter sunlight filtered through the withered branches of the tall poplar trees outside the hospital building, scattering onto the snow-white hospital bed. A nurse pushed a cart full of medicine bottles out of the ward and closed the door behind her.

The last leaf on the tree trunk outside the window could no longer withstand the invasion of the bitter winter and drifted down.

Li Xuewu, lying on the hospital bed, opened his mouth, then closed it again, and pressed his lips tightly together. Tears, however, flowed uncontrollably from his tightly closed eyes, streaming down his pale face and dripping onto the snow-white pillowcase.

"Wuwuwu."

Gu Ning, standing at the door looking inside through the glass, tightened the coat draped over her shoulders and turned back to her own ward.

Li Xuewu's sobbing, muffled in his throat, diminished as the door was pushed open, and finally choked in his mouth, his throat, and his heart.

"Li Xuewu, how are you? Can you open your eyes?"

Li Xuewu could tell this was Mu Hongyan's voice. He let out a long breath, slowly opened his eyes, and looked at the few people standing by the bed watching him.

Mu Hongyan reached out to take Li Xuewu's pulse and checked his wound, saying, "Excessive blood loss, you shouldn't be sad. For the sake of your body, think more about your family and keep your mind at ease."

Li Xuewu nodded and opened his mouth to say thank you, but felt his throat hurting as if it were burning.

Mu Hongyan patted Li Xuewu's shoulder and said, "It's nothing, it's just the fever. You had a high fever when you were brought in, it's normal. Rest well, you'll be fine in a few days. Save the thanks for later."

Li Xuewu nodded and gestured with his right hand toward Xu Ning, who was standing to one side.

Xu Ning nodded and said, "I understand, Li Kezhang. I have already thanked Dr. Mu."

Seeing that Li Xuewu's spirits were good, Mu Hongyan said to Xu Ning, "He's fine for now. Keep his diet light. I'm going to get busy. Call me if anything happens, don't be polite."

Mu Hongyan nodded to Li Xuewu again and left the ward with the nurses.

Xu Ning saw off Mu Hongyan and the others, closed the ward door, turned to Li Xuewu on the bed, and said, "Li Kezhang, you've finally woken up. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to hold on. Your father already came to the factory once. I was afraid the old man would have some kind of incident, so I didn't dare tell the truth and said you were on a mission."

Li Xuewu nodded to Xu Ning from the bed and waved for him to sit.

Xu Ning placed the lunchbox in his hand on the bedside table and asked, "I got this food from the cafeteria. You haven't eaten for two days. Let me feed you some."

Li Xuewu waved his hand to indicate he didn't want to eat. Xu Ning had no choice but to cover the lunchbox and put it back on the cabinet.

Li Xuewu couldn't speak, and his left arm was shot, so he could only gesture with his right hand.

Seeing Li Xuewu gesture with his fingers in the shape of a pistol, Xu Ning understood his meaning and said, "I was also called in after you were sent to the hospital. I don't know the specific situation too well. Captain Ji said everyone had been taken away."

Li Xuewu lay on the pillow, no longer looking at Xu Ning, but staring blankly at the white ceiling. Then he closed his eyes, swallowed, and eased his burning throat.

Xu Ning poured a glass of water for Li Xuewu and said, "You've been lying in bed for two days. After you were injured, Captain Ji sent you over and then left, saying he was going to handle the aftermath. Yating was on duty yesterday, and I was at the factory."

Speaking of this, Xu Ning said bitterly, "They say 'evil deeds lead to self-destruction.' Liu Fusheng has really fulfilled that saying."

Seeing Li Xuewu still had his eyes closed and no expression, Xu Ning knew that Li Xuewu not stopping him meant he wanted him to continue.

"Yesterday morning, Liu Fusheng went upstairs very majestically and announced to everyone that the document had been found at Feng Xiang's house, and that Engineer Han, who disappeared with Feng Xiang, was Feng Xiang's partner, and that both had fled."

Xu Ning said indignantly, "You don't know, Division Chief Fu personally said he wanted to apply for Liu Fusheng to be directly promoted to Li Kezhang of the Security Section. Liu Fusheng was so arrogant that when he went to check the gate, he even mocked you."

"Thinking about it makes me angry. What kind of person is your neighbor? Seeing Liu Fusheng go over, not only did he salute and greet him, but his fawning attitude was enough to lose all your face."

"Even with that attitude, he was still humiliated by Liu Fusheng, who said, 'How did someone of your age get in here? This is all because you appoint people by favoritism.' He even said, 'Truly, when one person gains power, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. A chicken from the same courtyard entered the factory, and a dog from a relative's house also entered the factory to be a police dog.'"

"Heh, your neighbor was so embarrassed his face looked like a monkey's butt."

"If you don't say 'self-inflicted,' what is it? As soon as Ji Weidong arrived, he went numb. He was pinned down by Captain Ji in the gun room on the first floor of the auxiliary building."

Seeing Li Xuewu reach out for water, Xu Ning stood up to serve him, then continued, "The most interesting one is Liu Wenhua. Heh, when he was being escorted onto the truck by Captain Ji and the others, he was spouting nonsense, saying which Deputy Factory Director kept a mistress, which Factory Director arranged for his brother-in-law to keep a mistress. Heh heh, you didn't see it, it was so lively. At the time, Division Chief Fu's face was like the face-changing in Sichuan opera, changing colors. It was so much fun."

The corners of Li Xuewu's mouth twitched, and he waved his hand at Xu Ning to indicate he didn't need to say any more.

Xu Ning put Li Xuewu's arm back under the quilt and said, "I know you don't like hearing about these messy things, I just couldn't help it. Heh, I've long found this Liu Fusheng an eyesore. What kind of person is he?"

Ignoring Xu Ning's muttering, he let Xu Ning wipe his face and continued lying there.

Just as Xu Ning put down the towel, the ward door was pushed open.

Xu Ning saw a tall, thin middle-aged woman in military uniform carrying a thermos bucket walk into the ward, with a guard behind her closing the door.

"Who are you?"

The visitor didn't look at Xu Ning but walked to Li Xuewu's bed, reached out to touch Li Xuewu's injured arm, and looking at Li Xuewu, who had opened his eyes, scolded, "Xuewu, how are you? Does it hurt? Oh my, why are you so worrying? When you left that day, I told you to be careful. Look at this, oh my."

Xu Ning stared blankly at this middle-aged woman showing concern for the Li Kezhang, her attitude that of an elder. But as far as he knew, the Li Kezhang didn't have any elders in the military.

Seeing Gu Ning's mother walk over with the thermos, Li Xuewu wanted to sit up to greet her, but his arm hurt and he couldn't muster the strength. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't say a word. His throat was still swollen, and he only made a "hissing" sound.

"I know, I know. I heard about it when I brought food to Xiao Ning yesterday. You weren't awake when I came to see you. Hongyan told me you just have a swollen throat from the high fever. Alright, don't talk, just rest well."

Ding Bianji opened the thermos she brought, poured a bowl of clear soup into the inner bowl, took a spoon from her bag, scooped a spoonful, and brought it to Li Xuewu's mouth.

Li Xuewu looked awkwardly at Ding Bianji as she busied herself. Seeing the soup brought to his mouth, he signaled with his right hand that he would do it himself, but was stopped by Ding Bianji.

"Alright, drink it quickly. Your face is so white. Hongyan said your blood had already coagulated when you were sent here. If it had been any later, you would have bled out. It's a wonder you have any strength at all."

Li Xuewu had no choice but to drink the soup at his mouth, then pointed at Xu Ning with his finger, signaling that he didn't need to trouble Ding Bianji and that Xu Ning could do it.

Xu Ning was about to step forward, but Ding Bianji continued to spoon the soup to Li Xuewu, saying, "A big young man like you wouldn't know how to take care of people. Yesterday, I saw the food brought was from the cafeteria. Not only was the nutrition insufficient, but it was also too salty, which isn't suitable for you."

Seeing Li Xuewu drink the soup, she continued to feed him while saying, "You're just like Xiao Ning, both stubborn. You're like this and still trying to be tough. Drink more. I stewed bone soup for her, and chicken soup for you."

Ding Bianji cleaned the soup from the corners of Li Xuewu's mouth with a spoon and continued, "I heard about your situation yesterday and specifically went to the market to buy a few old hens. This soup has been stewing since last night, a full night. Drink more, this old hen soup is the best for replenishing blood. I also specifically added notoginseng, red dates, and goji berries."

Xu Ning stood awkwardly to one side watching this middle-aged woman feed the Li Kezhang. Seeing the Li Kezhang drink the soup, he knew this was someone the Li Kezhang knew, and she really was an elder.

Seeing Xu Ning standing there, Ding Bianji said, "You should go eat. Yesterday, Wenxue—oh, that's your Dong Chuzhang—said when he came that Li Xuewu's situation hasn't been notified to his family yet."

She waved for Xu Ning to eat, and continued feeding Li Xuewu, "If you ask me, that's how it should be. Since he's been saved, don't let his family worry. From now on, whoever from your factory comes to be on duty, let them bring their own food. I'll bring Xuewu's food."

Xu Ning looked at Li Xuewu, waiting for him to express his stance. Li Xuewu wanted to express his stance, but his throat wouldn't allow it. He reached out to gesture, but was pressed down by Ding Bianji.

"Come, open your mouth. I'm also bringing Xiao Ning's food. Making an extra portion isn't any trouble, it's all the same fire."

Xu Ning finally saw it. This "Xiao Ning" was constantly mentioned by this aunt, so there must be some meaning behind it. And now she was prepared to bring food to the Li Kezhang long-term. If Xu Ning still couldn't see what was going on, he would have wasted his time hanging out with Li Xuewu for so long.

Ignoring Li Xuewu's gaze, Xu Ning picked up the water bottle on the cabinet, poured a glass of water for Ding Bianji, placed it to the side, and said, "You're right. We're young and don't even know how to take care of ourselves, let alone take care of a patient. Thank you for your guidance. We'll bring our own food from now on, and we'll have to trouble you to look after our Li Kezhang."

Seeing this young man was quite good at talking—much better than the one she saw in the hallway last time—Ding Bianji smiled and said, "Sit, sit. You must be hungry too, go eat. Don't be polite. I have a real relationship with your Dong Chuzhang and Li Kezhang Li. They're like my own children, looking after him is what I should do."

Li Xuewu drank the chicken soup fed by Ding Bianji and glared at Xu Ning, but was swatted by Ding Bianji with the spoon.

"Let the boy eat, why are you scaring him?"

Seeing Ding Bianji scold him, Li Xuewu had no choice but to continue drinking the soup, unable to laugh or cry.

Xu Ning buried his head in his lunchbox and ate, not even looking at Li Xuewu. He didn't dare watch the Li Kezhang make a fool of himself, fearing retaliation. He knew how vengeful the Li Kezhang was—he remembered things from eight hundred years ago, and you never knew when he would settle the score.

Under Ding Bianji's "coercion and inducement," Li Xuewu finally drank the chicken soup and steamed bun crumbs clean, and was finally let off by Ding Bianji.

"Alright, Xiao Ning has finished eating, I'm going back. You rest well. Tonight we'll have four-red blood-replenishing porridge: peanuts, red beans, purple rice, and red dates. It has excellent effects of replenishing blood, benefiting Qi, and reducing swelling, and can effectively promote heart blood supply."

Ding Bianji packed up the thermos, drank the water on the cabinet, greeted Li Xuewu and Xu Ning, and opened the door to leave.

Li Xuewu smacked his lips at the rich chicken soup flavor, glared at Xu Ning, who was watching him and trying to hold back laughter, closed his eyes, and decided to ignore everything.

Li Xuewu slept soundly for the whole afternoon, not even waking up when he was given an IV drip. He was shaken awake by Xu Ning in the evening.

It turned out Ding Bianji really had brought the blood-replenishing porridge, and she had brought Gu Ning along too.

Xu Ning was afraid Li Xuewu would find fault with him. Seeing the mother and daughter enter the room, he picked up the thermos he had just filled with hot water and said, "Aunt, you're here. You sit. The hot water is out, I'm going to the water room to get a pot of boiling water, and I'll go out for some fresh air while I'm at it."

Under Li Xuewu's gaze that wanted to kill him, Xu Ning ran off with the thermos cleanly and decisively, without a moment's hesitation, completely ignoring the awkward situation he was leaving Li Xuewu in.

Ding Bianji's porridge was indeed fragrant; he could smell it before he even ate. He had intended to signal Xu Ning to feed him in the evening, but who would have thought Xu Ning would run faster than a rabbit.

Li Xuewu had no choice but to let Ding Bianji feed him the porridge under Gu Ning's gaze.

Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu's wound and said, "It's fortunate you dodged in time. If that had hit your chest, even if it didn't hit your heart, you would have been finished."

The wound on Li Xuewu's arm was indeed not small, but fortunately, it didn't hit the bone. It just opened the flesh outside the bone and severed the blood vessels, which was why he had lost so much blood.

If that had hit his chest, not to mention what it would have injured, being so close to the heart, his heart would definitely have been shattered.

Li Xuewu hadn't expressed his stance yet, but Ding Bianji wouldn't have it. She tapped the inner bowl of the thermos with her spoon and said, "Go, go, stop saying such unlucky things, it's scary just to listen to."

Ding Bianji fed Li Xuewu a spoonful of porridge and said, "You say you're a soldier who isn't afraid of death and got injured, that's one thing. But you're back, and you can get such a serious injury as a security cadre in the Rolling Mill. This Rolling Mill, why are there so many bad people?"

Gu Ning didn't mind her mother glaring at her. She let her mother nag Li Xuewu, and seeing Li Xuewu couldn't speak and was just blinking at her, she found it quite funny.

Gu Ning's hands were still wrapped in gauze, but she had no problems moving. She sat on the chair and watched Li Xuewu drink porridge quietly.

Ding Bianji finished feeding Li Xuewu and stood up to say to Gu Ning, "What's wrong with Li Xuewu's nursing? Where did they go? They haven't come back for so long. Xiao Ning, you stay here and keep Xuewu company. Your father is coming back today, I have to go back first."

As she spoke, she packed up the thermos. Before leaving, she said to Li Xuewu and Gu Ning, "We'll have walnut and goji berry porridge tomorrow morning, to replenish blood for both of you. Look how thin you are. Alright, you two stay here, I'm leaving."

Ding Bianji left quite decisively, closed the door behind her, and stood to the side to listen to the movement inside. Finally, she asked the guard standing to the side, "Has that nurse not come back yet?"

The guard, Xiao Hu, whispered, "She came back, but seeing you in the room, she said she wanted to find a place to sleep and would come back after 9:30 PM."

Ding Bianji smiled at Xiao Hu and said, "Bring him a few boxes of cigarettes tomorrow morning. He's a smart young man."

Xiao Hu helped Ding Bianji take the thermos and said while following her out, "Understood, don't worry, I'll take care of it tomorrow morning."

Li Xuewu watched Ding Bianji leave the door, then turned to look at Gu Ning sitting by the bed, and smiled awkwardly.

Gu Ning also smiled and said, "A few days ago when you came to see me, you told me to pay attention to safety. Now it's good, we've swapped places, and it's my turn to come see you."

Li Xuewu blinked awkwardly and wrote on the paper and pen Xu Ning had prepared: "Ashamed."

Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu's writing and shook her head, "Nothing to be ashamed of. I know you're a good soldier and a good person. Down south, when you were brought down, you were in even worse shape than this. Your soldiers were crying when they carried you in. I knew what kind of person you were just by looking at their performance."

Good brother~

Asking for monthly tickets for the ten-thousand-word chapter at the end of the month~

Please support me a lot~ ===== CHAPTER 222 =====