The first watch had arrived.
An older woman helped the younger girl straighten her clothes and smooth out her hair before giving her a thorough once-over, "Okay, go on in."
The young girl handed a piece of paper to the gatekeeper, who took it and finally cracked a smile when his eyes fell on the signature, "Comrades, please come in."
Just as the young girl started to ask something, the older woman tugged her along inside. Wu Jingbo quickly handed his pass to the gatekeeper, and after being allowed to proceed, hastened his steps to catch up to where the mother and daughter had just turned the corner.
Fortunately, the mother and daughter hadn’t gone far, standing by the roadside asking an elderly man something. Wu Jingbo breathed a sigh of relief.
"What’s wrong?" Cheng Guo, trailing behind him, asked in confusion, "Is there something wrong with those two?" In his eyes, aside from being a bit short and plain-looking, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly unusual about them.
"Did you hear who they were just talking about?"
"Who?" Cheng Guo pondered for a moment and then realized, "They mentioned Chuxia, Lin Chuxia. Do you suspect they’re looking for Lin Chuxia? That can’t be, wasn’t it said that Lin Chuxia went back to her hometown to get married?"
The footnote on Chuxia’s leave of absence stated it was for marriage, but because she was from a remote rural area, everyone automatically assumed she had gone back home to get married. As time passed, no one felt they were making it up— it seemed as though that was indeed the fact.
"Yes, everyone says Lin Chuxia went back to her hometown to get married. That’s why I paid attention when I heard them mentioning Chuxia just now. I wanted to follow and see if it was actually our acquaintance, Chuxia. Is that so wrong?"
"This..." Cheng Guo was somewhat hesitant. He knew the teacher was quite fond of Lin Chuxia, but whether the Lin Chuxia the two women were looking for was the same one he knew, he wasn’t too interested.
"I know the man who drove those two women here, so I want to find out if the Lin Chuxia they’re looking for is our acquaintance. If it is, or, we should inform the teacher."
Cheng Guo hesitated, "Can’t you just go find the teacher now and tell him directly?"
After thinking for a moment, Wu Jingbo nodded, "That would work too."
"Do you know which way we should go?" Cheng Guo asked and then gave an embarrassed smile. "Will it delay your business? If that’s the case, I can find my way to the teacher’s house by myself."
"We’ve come this far—I might as well see it through. Besides, I’m still curious about Lin Chuxia’s situation. How can I just leave ?" Wu Jingbo said as he pointed ahead, "We’ll go this way too."
Such curiosity... Cheng Guo chuckled and shook his head, following her forward. As they passed by the mother and daughter, he couldn’t help but prick up his ears, but alas, he couldn’t understand a word of their hometown dialect.
Watching Lin Xiaohua and Zhao Qiyan standing at the door, Chuxia was speechless. These two were geniuses; they had actually managed to find this place! She was just chatting casually with her parents in the living room when the doorbell rang, and to her surprise, it was the two of them.
"Chuxia, we’ve finally found you. It really wasn’t easy..." As soon as Lin Xiaohua grabbed Chuxia’s wrist, she started wailing, with Zhao Qiyan also beginning to dab her tears.
"How did you two find this place?" Zhao Yulan asked with an unfriendly tone. It had not been long since Elder Wan, Old Master Zhou, and Old Madam Zhou had gone to the Jing Family’s home, and she had thought it was just some idle visitors, but it turned out to be this mother and daughter!
"Yulan, you’re upset with Sister-in-law, aren’t you?" Lin Xiaohua released Chuxia and embraced Zhao Yulan, bursting into loud sobs as if she had seen her own mother...
Lin Baohe also stood up, and seeing Chuxia’s disgusted expression at the doorway, he sighed lightly, "Xia, close the door first before we talk."
Sister-in-law Yin quietly brought out a tray of tea and placed it on the coffee table before retreating back to the kitchen.
To Zhao Qiyan, the sight of water was like spotting gold; she picked up the cup and gulped it down voraciously. After finishing, she looked eagerly at Chuxia, "I’m still thirsty."
Chuxia swallowed involuntarily— the tea was made with boiling water around 80 degrees Celsius. Could it be Zhao Qiyan had developed an iron stomach during these days?
Catching a glimpse of Zhao Qiyan’s clenched fist, the corners of Chuxia’s lips twitched imperceptibly. She personally went to the kitchen, poured a large cup of hot water, and brought it out to her: "Drink."
Zhao Qiyan’s eyebrows twitched, recalling the tough days she’d gone through. She gritted her teeth and continued chugging down the water with a "glug glug" sound. Seeing this, Lin Xiaohua, who had stopped crying, snatched the large cup from Zhao Qiyan’s hand, "Child, do you have a death wish!"