Jian Qiuyue turned around and went to fetch Xiao Mandong's letter, leaving the three of them alone. Sun Wenbin wanted to probe a bit, so he took the initiative to start a conversation.
Xiao Manxue knew that when she had been kidnapped by Cripple Liu earlier, it was Sun Wenbin who had provided crucial information. Out of gratitude, she chatted with him off and on. Xiao Mandong also joined in with a few words here and there to avoid arousing suspicion, but every time she met Sun Wenbin's gaze, she felt his eyes were like bugs clinging to her skin, and it was an indescribable discomfort. Xiao Mandong knew it was because her conscience was bothering her.
A warm breeze blew past, carrying an extremely faint trace of a scent that drifted into Sun Wenbin's nostrils.
The smile on Sun Wenbin's face did not change, but his fingers curled almost imperceptibly.
He held his breath, and without making any obvious move, he leaned closer with the breeze, tilting his head slightly. Yes, that was the smell—the strange, unfamiliar odor mixed in with the mustiness that day in the cellar. At the time, he had been so blinded by the rage of his precious item being stolen that he had only cursed under his breath, not giving it any deeper thought. Now it suddenly hit him: it was that faint smell of disinfectant.
Sun Wenbin knew that Xiao Mandong was interning at the hospital. At that moment, he was almost certain—it was this woman who had taken his treasure.
What was this woman's background, exactly? Why was she so skilled? That day she had managed to evade Old Kai's tracking under the tree, and Old Kai's abilities were not something just anyone could get away from. And he recalled the matter with Cripple Liu and Hu Guizhen—he had long known that Hu Guizhen had been set up by Xiao Mandong. At the time, he had thought it was just revenge, and that the woman was ruthless. But now, thinking about it, the way she had orchestrated everything that day with such flawless precision—that was not something an ordinary person could have pulled off either.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm. The more critical the moment, the less he could afford to alarm the snake. He would have to first figure out this woman's background, and then settle the score slowly.
Xiao Mandong had no idea that in just a few short minutes, she had already been exposed.
Jian Qiuyue quickly ran back and shoved the letter toward Xiao Mandong: "Here, for you. The postman delivered it this morning."
Xiao Mandong thanked her, said goodbye to the other two, and hurriedly left.
Sun Wenbin stood there, watching their backs as they walked away, his fingers slowly tightening. That wench, she dared to scheme against him. He would make sure she paid a painful price.
Xiao Mandong hadn't walked far when she felt a prickling sensation in her back, like a needle against her skin. She suddenly turned around and met Sun Wenbin's deep, dark eyes. The two of them shared a smile, and Xiao Mandong looked away.
When she got home, Xiao Mandong felt her wildly pounding heart settle down a little. She opened the letter—it was from Xiao Zhenyu again. In it, he said that the Wang family had run into trouble and asked her to notify their eldest uncle to come home immediately, saying it was time for him to reach the age for sending youth to the countryside, and he didn't know if his mother Wang Meixia could afford to buy him a job. He said that ever since the divorce, Wang Meixia didn't care about him, spending all the money on her new husband's children instead. The letter was full of complaints and self-pity. Xiao Mandong grew annoyed reading it, crumpled the letter into a ball, and tossed it into her space.
Xiao Mandong had been restless ever since she saw Sun Wenbin. In fact, she was now somewhat regretting stealing his treasured item. But then she thought, if she hadn't taken it, these things might have been smuggled abroad, which would have been an incalculable loss to the country. She wouldn't exactly turn it over to the authorities, but at most she would keep it as a family heirloom—at least that was better than letting these things fall into the hands of foreigners.
She told herself not to be paranoid, that no one knew she had gone out early that morning to the black market, and Sun Wenbin would never find out.
In the kitchen, Xiao Manxue had made fried flatbreads, cooked some congee, and stir-fried a plate of shredded potatoes. Ever since her sister had come down to the countryside, she felt like her meals had gone back to the way they were before—she'd even put on some weight.
"Xiao Manxue, open the door." Zhou Qichuan's voice came from outside. Xiao Manxue was just pulling the last flatbread out of the pan, and at the sound of his voice, she immediately set down the spatula and ran to the door. The moment she pulled it open, her eyes landed on the little fluffy thing cradled in Zhou Qichuan's arms.
Xiao Manxue's eyes lit up: "Brother Zhou, is this... a puppy?"
Zhou Qichuan smiled and nodded, shifting so she could get a better look at the little creature in his arms. It was covered in soft cream-colored fur, like a fluffy little ball, with big round eyes that darted around curiously and a nose that twitched as if sniffing the smell of the fried flatbreads.
"I went to the neighboring village this afternoon to ask for him. The owner's female dog had a litter, and they simply couldn't afford to keep them all, so they were worried no one would take them." As he spoke, Zhou Qichuan gently scratched the puppy under its chin with his finger.
"The owner said it's about three months old. This place is fairly remote, and with your sister doing her hospital internship, there will inevitably be nights when she comes home late. Having a dog to keep you company will give you some courage, and when it grows up, it can also watch the house."
Then he paused for a moment: "If you two don't like it, or you think it'll be a waste of food, I can take it back right now."
In this day and age, nobody was usually willing to raise dogs. Every family treated food as their lifeline—people could barely fill their stomachs with wild vegetables and sweet potatoes mixed in. Who had any extra grain to feed a dog? Take his own family for example: he had suggested to his grandmother that they get a dog to watch the house, so he could worry less while he was away in the army, but she flatly refused, saying she would feel sorry for it if they fed it, and she couldn't bear it if they didn't—it was a living creature after all. When people themselves had a hard time getting enough food, why keep a dog?
Zhou Qichuan knew that Xiao Mandong had a bit more resources than most. He thought that having a dog would be beneficial for the two sisters—no downside.
Xiao Mandong, hearing the commotion from inside the house, pushed the door open and came out. When she saw the little puppy in Zhou Qichuan's arms, her eyes too lit up with delighted surprise. Earlier, she had asked the team leader if anyone in the village had puppies. The team leader said the whole village only had two dogs—one was owned by the hunter Ma, used for chasing rabbits, and the other belonged to the production team, tied up at the grain-drying ground to guard the collective crops. No private household kept dogs at all, and he had told her to wait until one of them had a litter.
She hadn't expected Zhou Qichuan to manage to get one—this was wonderful.
"Company Commander Zhou, we are truly grateful." Xiao Mandong stepped forward, her voice betraying her barely contained joy.
Hearing her sister's words, Xiao Manxue's heart also settled. She had just been wondering whether she should express her fondness, since her sister already had the burden of supporting her, and now they'd have an extra mouth to feed. She liked the puppy, but she had felt too embarrassed to say so.
Xiao Manxue carefully took the puppy from Zhou Qichuan's arms, and in doing so, her fingertips accidentally brushed against his hand. It was as if he'd received an electric shock—he pulled his hand back abruptly.
Recently he didn't know what was wrong with him. Ever since that day he had steadied her with a hand, whenever he saw Xiao Manxue, his heart would inexplicably race. Yesterday, when she had been tricked away by Wang Yuanyuan, he felt his anger reach a boiling point—otherwise, he wouldn't have lost his composure like that. He was someone who was very good at controlling his emotions, but yesterday, he had completely lost control.
Xiao Mandong and Xiao Manxue were both playing with the puppy on the ground and didn't notice anything unusual about Zhou Qichuan. Xiao Manxue gave the puppy a name: Diandian.
Zhou Qichuan promised to bring some wooden planks the next day to build a doghouse. In the meantime, Xiao Manxue laid out a pile of dried straw under the eaves for the puppy to sleep on.
In the dead of night, when all was silent, Diandian first let out a wary whimper, and then, as if sensing some danger, suddenly burst into a frenzy of barking—Woof! Woof woof! Woof woof woof!
