Qin Yuanzheng drove Qiao Lanshu and the two children home.
The girl named Yuan Zhi was left alone at the hotel.
Qiao Lanshu sat in the car, her expression somewhat grave. She ignored Qin Qiao'an.
From time to time, Qin Qiao'an glanced at Qiao Lanshu’s face, leaning close to speak to her, but she still paid him no attention.
He immediately grew anxious, his expression turning a little guilty.
When his mother ignored him, he looked to Xiaxia, only to find her staring at him with an equally serious expression.
In a low voice, Qin Qiao'an asked Xiaxia, “How did you find your way there today?”
Xiaxia replied speechlessly, “Mom and I followed you the entire way. You were the one who didn’t notice. You were like an idiot.”
He had been followed all the way without realizing it, and Qiao Lanshu and Xiaxia were both ordinary people. They had simply run along behind him.
Yet even so, Qin Qiao'an had failed to notice. Xiaxia truly felt that her brother was becoming rather useless.
Normally, Qin Qiao'an would have argued with Xiaxia properly after being looked down on by his little sister.
But right now, he did not even dare to speak too loudly.
Lowering his voice, he said, “I usually conduct myself honorably. I don’t have to fear a knock on the door in the middle of the night. Of course I never imagined someone would follow me. Besides, even if I had been followed, so what? I didn’t do anything wrong. What do I have to be afraid of?”
Xiaxia glared at him and also lowered her voice. “You went to stay at a hotel with a female classmate, and you still have the nerve to say you conduct yourself honorably? What exactly is honorable about that?”
Then she added, “And if you really aren’t afraid, why are you acting so guilty now?”
Qin Qiao'an: “...”
Xiaxia shook her head and said with barely concealed delight, “Just wait. You’re in for it once we get home.”
Qin Qiao'an: “...”
Looking at the silent Qin Yuanzheng and Qiao Lanshu, Qin Qiao'an suddenly sensed that a storm was about to break.
The family returned home in silence.
Han Ye had gone back to the Han family home these past few days. He had recently started high school and was growing up, with secrets of his own, so he had been staying here less often and going back to the Han home more frequently.
Since Han Wenlin was busy with work and did not pay much attention to him, Han Ye had a great deal of freedom when he was home alone.
When Qin Qiao'an got home and found that Han Ye was not there either, he thought that he was truly finished today. There was really no one left to protect him now.
The family of four entered the house.
Qin Yuanzheng and Qiao Lanshu sat down on the sofa. Xiaxia pulled over a small stool and sat beside them to watch the show.
Qin Qiao'an looked from one person to the other, then walked over to the sofa beside Qiao Lanshu, intending to sit down.
But then Qin Yuanzheng gave him a look, and he immediately snapped to attention, standing rooted to the spot.
Qin Yuanzheng looked at him and said, “You have ten minutes to explain. Go on—what exactly is going on between you and that girl?”
He had only just started middle school. He was still practically a child, yet he was already thinking about dating?
Wasn’t that ridiculous?
Under his family’s stares, Qin Qiao'an hurriedly said, “First, let me make one thing clear: my relationship with Yuan Zhi is not what you think it is.”
The moment Qiao Lanshu heard that, she felt a little relieved. She quickly asked, “Then what exactly is going on? Why did you go to a hotel with her?”
Qin Qiao'an took the opportunity to dash over to Qiao Lanshu and squeeze in beside her.
Qin Yuanzheng’s face darkened, but he said nothing, merely waiting for him to explain.
Qin Qiao'an said, “Actually, it’s not that complicated. Yuan Zhi is my deskmate, and we get along pretty well. Sometimes she brings candy for me, and I bring her snacks and things too. Her grades are pretty good, and there are things I don’t understand that I can ask her about.”
Qin Qiao'an’s grades were not bad either. In a class of forty students, he ranked among the top ten.
Who would have thought that Yuan Zhi’s grades were even better than his?
Qiao Lanshu studied Qin Qiao'an’s expression and nodded. “And then? Get to the point.”
Qin Qiao'an said, “Then her father suddenly got into trouble and was arrested. Her mother was taken in for questioning too. No one knows whether her parents will be able to come back. She’s all alone—she has no relatives, no grandparents, nobody. And these past few days, lots of people have come to her house, saying they needed to investigate something involving her parents. The house was even sealed off!
“She had nowhere to go. By the time I found out, she had already been staying alone in a hotel for several days. She said she was running out of money and didn’t know where she would stay from now on. So I said I had money and would help her find a cheaper hotel. That’s how we found that place. I gave her all the money I had—fifty yuan in total.”
When Qin Yuanzheng heard this, his face darkened further. “Do you even know what her parents did before you decided to help her?”
Qin Qiao'an lowered his head. “I know whatever her parents did must have been serious. But what does that have to do with her? We’re good friends, and now she has no one to help her. I happened to be able to help, so I did. Mom, didn’t you always teach us to be kind and righteous people? Wasn’t what I did kind? Wasn’t it the right thing to do?”
Qiao Lanshu: “...”
Qiao Lanshu exchanged a look with Qin Yuanzheng before asking, “Her mother was also taken in for questioning—what could her father possibly have done? Should we ask Director Han?”
Qin Qiao'an looked at Qin Yuanzheng expectantly as well.
Qin Yuanzheng shook his head. “Cases like this are confidential before they’re closed. Even if we ask, they won’t tell us.”
Qiao Lanshu looked back at Qin Qiao'an. “You really were only helping her out of simple kindness, not because of anything else?”
She was truly beginning to suspect that there was something more between Qin Qiao'an and Yuan Zhi.
It was not that she did not trust her son. She had been young once too.
A teenage boy just beginning to experience first love, seated beside a girl in class and close to her; then the girl runs into trouble, and the boy steps forward to help her.
It sounded exactly like the beginning of a romantic love story.
It was such a classic setup that Qiao Lanshu did not even know what to say.
Qin Qiao'an immediately said, “No. A-Zhi and I are just good friends. What else could there be?”
Qiao Lanshu looked at Qin Qiao'an, who still seemed a little guilty.
And Qiao Lanshu understood.
There was probably a little mutual affection between him and Yuan Zhi.
But first, they were still young. Second, Yuan Zhi’s family had suffered such a sudden upheaval that the two of them probably had not had the chance to think in that direction yet.
Qiao Lanshu fell silent for a moment, considering how this should be handled.
Then Qin Yuanzheng said, “How much money do you have to keep her in a hotel? Given her circumstances, the Women’s Federation or another department will surely step in. If nothing else, you could have asked a teacher for help.”
Qin Qiao'an scratched his head. “But Yuan Zhi said no one had come looking for her. And she might be sent to an orphanage.”
Qiao Lanshu’s heart skipped a beat. “Is it really that serious? What exactly did her parents do?”
Qin Qiao'an shook his head. “I don’t know. She doesn’t know either. She wanted to ask, but she said she went to the police station, and they told her they hadn’t arrested her parents. It seems her parents were taken away by people from some other department.”
As he spoke, Qin Qiao'an looked at Qin Yuanzheng and asked, “Dad, don’t tell me they were taken away by people from your unit?”
Qin Yuanzheng fell silent for a moment. Then he suddenly said, “Come to think of it, Si Zhemao came to Wencheng last month.”
The children had never heard of this man, but Qiao Lanshu knew who he was.
When she had still been pregnant with Qin Qiao'an, Qin Yuanzheng had worked with Si Zhemao on a mission to capture spies in the mountains.
Si Zhemao was an investigator from the capital, dispatched to carry out an assignment. He worked for the Investigation Department and had apprehended quite a few spies over the years.
After all these years, why had he suddenly come to Wencheng again?
Qin Yuanzheng knew Si Zhemao had come to Wencheng, but he had never had the time to meet with him.
After a brief silence, he said, “I’ll go see him and ask what’s going on.”
Qiao Lanshu’s expression darkened as well. “If that really is the case, then what will happen to Yuan Zhi?”
Qin Yuanzheng said, “Usually, children aren’t implicated in situations like this. If their parents are dealt with, the children are sent to an orphanage or placed with relatives.”
Although times had changed since the old days, spies and covert agents hiding in all kinds of places were still far from rare.
They blended into the crowd, living ordinary lives, working, studying, and waiting quietly for their chance.
The fact that Si Zhemao was still carrying out missions like this after all these years showed that this war without smoke had never truly disappeared.
Both Qiao Lanshu and Qin Yuanzheng looked grave.
They turned to look at Qin Qiao'an.
Qin Qiao'an more or less understood that the situation was serious.
Troubled, he asked, “Will Yuan Zhi really be sent to an orphanage? Will she still be able to go to school? What will happen to her in the future?”
Qin Yuanzheng got to his feet. “In any case, this isn’t something you should be worrying about. And don’t go looking for her at the hotel anymore. It wouldn’t be appropriate. When the time comes, the relevant department will contact her.”
The Women’s Federation would send her to an orphanage, and she would still be able to continue her education.
But once she turned eighteen, she would have to make her own way in the world.
Qiao Lanshu had not expected things to turn out this way. Looking at Qin Qiao'an, she said, “You’re just ordinary classmates, right? Then don’t concern yourself with her anymore. Listen to your father.”
Qin Qiao'an looked conflicted, but he did not agree.
Instead, he returned to his room in low spirits.
In a quiet voice, Xiaxia said, “Mom, I don’t think my brother is going to listen.”
Of course Qiao Lanshu knew that. Still, if Yuan Zhi truly was innocent, then her parents’ crimes really had little to do with her.
It was just that, as a young girl, life and school would both be very difficult for her from now on.
Qin Qiao'an would surely help her in secret—saving up his pocket money to give her some, or something like that.
After thinking it over, Qiao Lanshu decided to have a talk with her son.
Qin Qiao'an was in his room, sitting at his desk and rummaging through a drawer for something.
Qiao Lanshu saw that his door was open, so she walked straight in and asked, “How much money do you have left?”
Qin Qiao'an whipped around, startled. Then, looking a little embarrassed, he said, “Mom, how come you don’t make any noise when you walk? You scared me half to death.”
Leaning against the desk, Qiao Lanshu wore an unusually serious expression. “An'an, I’ll be direct. I don’t mind if you want to help your desk mate. Giving her some money to improve her living situation, speaking up for her at school if she runs into trouble—that’s all fine. But I don’t want you getting too close to her. You’re only in your first year of middle school, and you still have to get into high school. I want you to focus on your studies...”
Before she could finish, Qin Qiao'an suddenly interrupted her. “Mom, are you worried that I’ll start dating too early?”
Qiao Lanshu: “...”
She glared at him. “You know what I’m worried about? That’s right, I’m worried you’ll start dating too early. You are not allowed to date before you go to university.”
In truth, Qiao Lanshu did not want him to end up with Yuan Zhi either, but she could not say that to him now.
After all, most youthful crushes did not last.
Perhaps they were drawn to each other now because they were desk mates and got along well. That kind of attraction might fade away after a few days or a few months.
But if she forcefully stopped him from seeing Yuan Zhi or from helping her, it might trigger his rebellious streak and backfire.
The two children might end up thinking that the whole world had abandoned them, then cling to each other for comfort and grow even closer. Feelings that had not existed in the first place might emerge by then.
Qiao Lanshu would probably be angry enough to make herself sick.
Qin Qiao'an laughed. “Mom, what are you thinking? Yuan Zhi and I are just good friends—good buddies! If any one of my friends ran into trouble, I’d lend them a hand!”
Then he added, “Just like Aunt Zhong Mei. When she was having a hard time, didn’t you help her too, Mom? When she needed money to keep her business going, you lent her some. My situation with Yuan Zhi is exactly like yours with Aunt Zhong Mei.”
Qiao Lanshu: “...”
Qiao Lanshu studied his expression and asked hesitantly, “So that’s really how you see it?”
Qin Qiao'an replied as if it were only natural, “Of course. What else would I think? Mom, Yuan Zhi and I are good buddies, so stop imagining things, okay?”
Qiao Lanshu: “...”
Qiao Lanshu left Qin Qiao'an’s room with a complicated expression. As she closed the door, she looked back at him, still searching through his piggy bank.
Shaking her head, she shut the door.
Xiaxia had been keeping a close watch. The moment Qiao Lanshu came out, she hurriedly asked, “Mom, how did it go? What did my brother say?”
Qiao Lanshu shook her head. “Your brother? He’s just like you.”
At Xiaxia’s bewildered look, Qiao Lanshu added, “You’re both blocks of wood.”
Xiaxia: “...”
From the way that little girl Yuan Zhi looked at Qin Qiao'an, Qiao Lanshu could tell there was nothing ordinary about her feelings for him.
Qin Qiao'an saw her as one of the guys, but she was a girl, and girls were naturally more sensitive.
She certainly did not see him as one of the girls.
Forget it. There was no use overthinking things. It was better to let nature take its course.
...
Two days later, Qin Yuanzheng finally got the information from Si Zhemao.
He had indeed arrested several people recently. One of them had the surname Yuan. His wife was innocent, but she had been deceived by her husband into doing something that was not entirely aboveboard, so she had effectively been dragged down with him.
The husband would not survive, while the wife would be imprisoned for many years.
Their daughter would naturally be placed in the care of the Women’s Federation and an orphanage.
The details could not be disclosed, but Qin Yuanzheng had learned everything he wanted to know.
No wonder the Public Security Bureau had been unaware of it.
The case was being handled by Si Zhemao of the Investigation Department.
