After the interrogation, Tian Sangsang carried Meng Shuyan out to have dinner.
This meal consisted of plain rice, using items from the shared supplies. Each person was given a small bowl of steaming hot pork ribs and a small plate of aromatic, flavorful side dishes.
"Wow." Meng Shuyan’s eyes lit up brightly. "Mom, today’s food tastes better than yesterday’s."
"Mm." Tian Sangsang suddenly felt her decisions were justified. Seeing the joyful expression on her son’s face made her happy. "There’s pork ribs today, eat more, okay?"
Not long after, Zhou Zheng was also released. From a distance, Tian Sangsang saw him. He seemed very afraid of her. He glanced briefly at her before hurriedly walking away.
But at least he came out in time to get food.
After finishing the meal, everyone received a tangerine. When Tian Sangsang peeled the tangerine for Meng Shuyan, she realized it was actually an orange. She had mistaken it for a tangerine. Looking around, everyone else was peeling oranges too, biting into them directly, their mouths dripping with orange juice.
Not far away, Zhou Zheng’s eating was even more... His ten fingers were drenched in sticky orange juice, and after finishing, he shamelessly sucked his fingers.
Tian Sangsang felt a wave of nausea. She looked down at Meng Shuyan, whose face had turned quite pale.
... The mental image was just too strong to stomach.
"Son, let’s go for a walk to digest our food." Tian Sangsang quickly said, lifting Meng Shuyan into her arms.
While walking, they came across Li Xiaoqin and others. Meng Shuyan and Gou Sheng hadn’t talked in a long time, and both seemed very excited, chattering away with each other.
Tian Sangsang watched them with a small smile. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in white, accompanied by Li Qiong’er.
Why was Guan Kunling with Li Qiong’er? Having previously witnessed what kind of person Li Qiong’er was, Tian Sangsang was worried that Guan Kunling might be bullied by her.
"Sister Xiaoqin." Tian Sangsang stood up. "Let Gou Sheng and Yanyan play here for a while. I’ll take a walk nearby."
Li Xiaoqin nodded briskly. "Sure, go ahead. I’ll watch over Yanyan; nothing will happen."
Relieved, Tian Sangsang followed Guan Kunling’s silhouette. The distance was neither too far nor too close; it led her to the ruins of the former town textile factory. The building had completely collapsed, parts of it flat and other parts protruding. Scattered about, there were remnants of structures, including something resembling iron railings.
Li Qiong’er said something to Guan Kunling, but Tian Sangsang couldn’t hear. Guan Kunling’s expression remained cold throughout. After a moment, Guan Kunling responded with a single sentence, then turned to leave. Li Qiong’er’s face twisted with hostility as she rushed to grab her hand. In her haste, she tripped over the ruins, falling forward. Guan Kunling turned back quickly, catching her by the waist, causing both to tumble onto the ground. They rolled a few times but remained unharmed.
During the roll, whether intentionally or instinctively, Guan Kunling seemed to protect Li Qiong’er’s belly.
Li Qiong’er got up and shot a glance ahead. As Guan Kunling was about to stand, Li Qiong’er suddenly stretched out her foot, her lips curling into a sinister smile...
"Kunling! Watch out!" Tian Sangsang’s heart clenched, and she yelled.
Oh no! Perhaps because of the disturbance Li Qiong’er and Guan Kunling had caused earlier, the already unstable factory debris began to release a cascade of windows, mixed with sand and rubble. Was Li Qiong’er trying to trip Guan Kunling so she’d be struck by the falling windows?
Hearing Tian Sangsang’s warning, Guan Kunling reacted swiftly, tumbling out of harm’s way with a series of nimble rolls, finally landing right in front of Tian Sangsang.
Li Qiong’er stood frozen in disbelief.
Crash! The first window slammed into Li Qiong’er’s shoulder, knocking her to the ground. As she struggled to rise, two or three more windows fell, heavily hitting her back and lower body. Unable to bear the weight, she collapsed fully onto the ground.
"Ah!" Li Qiong’er let out a pale-faced scream of agony.
"Kunling, are you okay?"
Guan Kunling shook her head, lips pressed tightly together. "I’m fine. Let’s go."
"Wait, wait!" Tian Sangsang looked back. Li Qiong’er was still pinned under the debris, unconscious, with a dark red pool of blood spreading beneath her.
"Kunling, what do we do? She’s bleeding..." How could there be blood? And from underneath her? Could it be...
"Leave her." Guan Kunling’s calm was unnerving as she cast a cold glance at the fallen Li Qiong’er, as if looking at a worthless insect. "She brought this upon herself. Sangsang, you once told me: Be wary of others, but never harm the innocent. This is the consequence of her choices."
Tian Sangsang couldn’t comprehend the iciness in her tone. "But we still need to call a doctor." Leaving a bleeding person to die there wasn’t right, was it? She believed that if it were anyone else, Guan Kunling wouldn’t be so cold. After all, in the original story, Guan Kunling was always indifferent toward irrelevant people.
Soon, Li Qiong’er was taken away for emergency treatment while Lu Chi paced anxiously outside.
The doctor eventually came out and said, "The pregnant woman’s life is no longer in danger, but the heavy impact caused her to miscarry."
Lu Chi cursed loudly, slamming his fist into the door, his reddened eyes turning to Guan Kunling. "So this is your revenge, isn’t it?"
"It wasn’t me. It was the heavens reclaiming a debt from you," Guan Kunling calmly replied. "Do evil too often, and retribution will follow."
Li Qiong’er awoke, lying weakly on the bed. "Lu Chi..." she murmured, reaching out to him with tears streaming down her face.
"Our child is gone. Guan Kunling pushed me to the ground and just watched. She didn’t save me." Her voice was hoarse. "She’s Jiang Jiaqi’s vengeful ghost, here to drag us all to hell. It’s me now, but you’ll be next..."
Anyone could see that Guan Kunling had dirt stains and ruffled clothes from rolling on the ground. If Li Qiong’er’s account were true, her clothes should have been spotless.
Tian Sangsang couldn’t help but find the name Jiang Jiaqi familiar. Wasn’t she Jiang Jinghuai’s sister? What did she have to do with Guan Kunling? Besides, Li Qiong’er was spouting nonsense—clearly attempting to harm others but ending up harming herself. Just as she was about to speak up for justice, her hand was suddenly gripped tightly.
Guan Kunling gave her a reassuring look, her touch icy.
Lu Chi coldly responded, "It’s not up to you to say. I’m going to investigate this thoroughly."
The more Tian Sangsang thought about it, the more unsettled she became. Guan Kunling was taken away for scrutiny. After all, as a semi-military member, she was subject to punishment if she erred.
Tian Sangsang’s impression of Lu Chi worsened. How did someone so incapable of distinguishing right from wrong become a Major?
"Will Kunling be okay?" she asked Jiang Jinghuai worriedly that evening.
"At worst, she’ll be expelled from the military." Jiang Jinghuai sighed softly, gazing into the deep night sky, his emotions unreadable.
"Kunling saved Yanyan’s life. You can’t just abandon her." In her arms, Meng Shuyan stirred sleepily, and Tian Sangsang gently patted his back.
"Let me hold him." Jiang Jinghuai took Meng Shuyan into his arms, his large, steady hand ruffling the boy’s curly hair. "Do you think she’s the type to suffer losses easily?"
"Of course not," Tian Sangsang said. Although Kunling was highly skilled in martial arts, she always felt Lu Chi was despicable, utterly devoid of the righteousness expected of someone in the military. Simple-minded Kunling couldn’t possibly match him.
"She won’t." Jiang Jinghuai smiled faintly, an enigmatic expression on his face. "You don’t truly know her."
Oh really, and you do? Tian Sangsang wondered to herself.